Dragon Age: Group of Exiles
by Sarenieth
Summary: With time running short as the relentless Blight rages across Ferelden everyone must give their all for the life of their world. The Cousland, Tabris, Mahariel, Amell, Surana, Brosca, and Aeducan bloodlines all sacrifice their beloved children for this singular cause. They are led by a Shadow, and they are hellbent on restoring the Wardens, as well as putting an end to their foes.
1. Prologue - Chapter 1

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Chapter 1: The Shadow Warden and the Dalish Huntress_

Lyna Mahariel, a Dalish Hunter of the Sabrae clan watched as Tamlen, her friend from childhood stood with his bow ready. As if on cue three humans came rushing down the hill and straight into his line of sight, nothing standing between them and the hunter. The first of them fell down in fear, quickly rushing backwards before stopping. The second arrived and both he and his comrade who had fallen looked around, confused. As the third man rushed to the scene, the man sitting down pointed at Tamlen.

"It's a Dalish!" He said aloud, Tamlen briefly passing aim around the three of them before focusing on the man who spoke.

Closing one eye to focus on his targets, he gave a frown to the men, "And you three are somewhere you shouldn't be." He responded with irritation in his voice. Lyna kept watching the conversation between the four, slowly and quietly readying her own bow.

"Let us pass, elf. You have no right to stop us!" The second man demanded. Funny how even the lowest looking of humans thought they could command any and all of the elves. Judging from their rather poor clothes they were mere villagers, no doubt calling home that human settlement not too far from their current location in the Brecillian Forest.

"No? We will see about that, won't we?" Tamlen threatened, sounding confident. Too confident. Nevertheless, Lyna appeared from the bushes and had her bow at the ready, taking aim at the second human. Though her weapon was aimed at him, she watched the others with caution. Tamlen let his bow down for a mere second with a smile on his face, "You're just in time. I found these... **humans** lurking in the bushes. Bandits, no doubt."

One look at the dark haired elf made the humans seem jittery. "We aren't bandits, I swear! Please don't hurt us!" The second man pleaded as Tamlen raised his bow once more at them.

The two elves began slowly stepping towards the humans. "You shemlen are pathetic. It's hard to believe you ever drove us from our homeland." Tamlen taunted. Lyna silently took note of her friend's taunts. Whilst she didn't like humans or those of her own kind that decided to live in shem cities, she did not like boasting or taunting. She was much more direct and thought of those things as needless wastes of breath.

"W-we've never done nothing to you Dalish! We didn't even know this forest was yours!" The third man said, his voice hurt both Tamlen and Lyna's ears. It was high pitched and made him sound more like a teenage boy going through puberty than the man he appeared to be. His words disgusted the two elves, they were humans and just seconds ago they tried to 'assert their dominance' over Tamlen.

Tamlen let out a sigh and Lyna simply shook her head. "This forest isn't ours, fool. You've stumbled too close to our camp. You shems are like vermin—we can't trust you not to make mischief." Tamlen corrected them before insulting them yet again. He was not going to enjoy Lyna's famous lectures when this ordeal was over. Tamlen looked at Lyna before asking, "What do you say, lethallin? What should we do with them?"

Lyna thought for a moment before narrowing her eyes. "We kill them. No one will know, nor care about two dead shems." She responded, enjoying the sight of the three men looking at each other with fear.

"I like the sound of that. Anything to say in your defense, shems?" Asked Tamlen as both he and Lyna prepared to release their arrows.

"L-look... we didn't come here to be trouble. We just found a cave..." The first and most silent man said, surely they were desperate.

"Yes, a cave! With ruins like I've never seen! We thought there might be, uh..." The second man piped in. That confirmed her suspicions. The elves had been in this location for quite some time, not once had they discovered any ruins.

"Treasure. So you're more akin to thieves than actual bandits." Tamlen finished for the man, more disgust than before being located within his voice. Lyna chuckled before shaking her head, "I'd like to see these ruins for myself." Tamlen nodded, "So would I! I have never seen any ruins in these parts."

The second man stepped forward cautiously. "I... I have proof! Here... we found this just inside the entrance." He said as he slowly handed Tamlen a stone. The elf put away his bow an arrow, taking the relic whilst leaving Lyna to watch the men.

His eyes grew wide as he saw it. "This stone has carvings... is this elvish? **Written** elvish?" He asked with confusion in his voice. "There's more in the ruins! We didn't get very far in, though..." The man stammered. Tamlen pocketed the stone before readying his bow again.

"Why not? Surely you shems would want more treasure to go home with, for your beloved gold. A stone won't get you far in that regard." Hissed Lyna, tempted to just release her arrow now rather than later.

"There was a demon! It was huge... it's eyes black! Thank the Maker we were able to out-run it!" The man exclaimed, causing both Lyna and Tamlen to laugh.

He got that sarcastic, judging, look in his eyes again before he spoke, "A demon. Where is this cave?" The men looked at each other once again before the second responded, "Just off to the west, I think. There's a cave in the rock face, and a huge hole just inside."

"Well, do you trust them? Shall we let them go?" Tamlen questioned Lyna who already made up her mind minutes ago.

"No. Why would we do that? So they can bring more to drive us out? Kill them all." She answered bitterly. "Yes, one could expect no less from a shem. This will not take long..." Tamlen responded and before the humans could do anything, Lyna let her arrow fly through the air and plant itself in the third man's throat. Tamlen let his arrow go and it planted itself in the chest of the second man. The huntress drew another arrow quickly and released it straight into the back of the man running away, sending him falling down with a yelp of pain.

Putting their weapons away victoriously, Tamlen took a few steps forward before turning to Lyna. "Well, shall we see if there's any truth to their story? These carvings make me curious." The woman shrugged with a smirk, "Sounds good to me if it sounds good to you." He returned the smile as they both walked down the forest path.

Lyna gazed down at the water and vegetation at the bottom of the small crater the path led around. As she turned to look forward, she caught Tamlen looking at her and couldn't help but smirk and give him a wink. He stopped which forced her to stop and turn around to face him.

"Tamlen?" She asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at her friend. He looked at his feet, then to an insect scurrying away from the two-legged behemoths near it. She approached him slowly, cautiously placing her hand on his cheek. "Are you okay?" She questioned before he looked up and stared into her ice-blue eyes with his silver ones.

"Lyna, I..." He started to say before he sighed and shook his head, pulling away from her. "Nothing, let's go." Lyna frowned and followed him. They only came across two wolves, and they dispatched them with ease.

Silence, for five minutes that was all that was heard between the two elves. Before they entered the cave, Lyna stopped their advance. "Tamlen, what's on your mind? Just tell me. Please." He turned to her and sighed before his eyebrows raised. "It's just that... weren't you supposed to be assisting Master Varathorn today? How did you end up coming with me? If you sneaked away again, he'll kill us both!"

She smiled and shrugged, he was a bad liar and was even worse when trying to cover something up. "I wanted to be with you, of course." She said sweetly. He smiled gently at her, looking into her eyes again. "I... thought that might be the case. I'm glad." He responded with a small hint of nervousness in his voice. "Let's just see what's in the cave and get out of here. We can talk later."

With that, they turned and walked into the cave. Neither of them had noticed the man clad in plate armor atop the ridge overlooking the cave. It was exactly like the common Grey Warden plate armor, but instead was pure black. None who gazed upon him would expect him a mage, as he was wearing plate armor and had weaponry not magical in nature. Two swords, three daggers, and a shield. Occasionally he'd used a bow and arrow, but those occasions were rare and only when a situation called for it, so he never carried them. Duncan, a fellow Grey Warden and Warden-Commander of the Ferelden Grey Wardens walked up to him, eyeing the cave with interest. They were drawn here, sensing the Darkspawn. Despite their main goal to recruit, Darkspawn were a threat always demanding immediate attention.

"Two elves have entered that cave. No doubt Marethari's bunch." The man in black growled to Duncan who nodded slowly. "You stay out here and wait, my friend. I am going inside to observe them. We may have potential recruits if we are lucky." The Warden simply took a few steps forward, "as you wish," he said before jumping off of the ledge and down onto the path the two elves had been on. With a loud thud, he stood up straight and rolled his shoulders.

Duncan did the same, though rather than stand there he headed inside the cave.

"Tamlen! Don't touch that-!" Lyna shouted before a blast sent her flying backwards. A white light blinded her and she lost consciousness. She knew coming to this cave was a mistake, she knew that mirror was bad news just by the looks of it. Now had she and her friend perished because of her foolishness and his curiosity? She felt something tug at her shoulders and weakly opened her eyes to see a human man. His hair was black but slightly greying and pulled back into a pony tail. He had a thick beard and truly looked like a man who had seen many battles and struggles. "Are you okay? I am sorry." He said in a calm voice that didn't sit well with the elf. She could not keep her eyes open any longer and fell back to unconsciousness again.

* * *

Hearing the screams from inside the cave, the Black Warden drew his sword and almost instantaneously it was covered in flames. In his open hand was an orb of electricity as he watched his surroundings closely. It did not take him long to spot Duncan coming out of the cave with an elf being carried over his shoulder. He turned his head slightly, curious, but everything was interrupted before he could speak as they sensed Darkspawn coming out from the cave as well as the forest around them.

"Get her to her people. I will keep them off of you for as long as I can before vanishing into the shadows." The Black Warden said before blasting a Hurlock with the built up electricity in his hand. The creature let out a shriek of pain before falling over, dead.

Duncan nodded before he rushed off. The Darkspawn couldn't see him running because the Black Warden let out a loud roar that gained their attention. They all closed in on the lone Warden, wanting nothing more than to tear him apart.

The Warden narrowed his eyes as he looked around at the circle of Darkspawn hissing in laughter at him. He was surrounded, but he felt no fear. "Come, dance with death for awhile. After all, I get lonely." He taunted before the group of Darkspawn closed in on him.

And so they clashed together, metal against metal. Before they could surround him completely, a circle of fire erupted around him, igniting two of them on fire. They ran away screeching in pain. The fire barrier faded and he quickly stabbed one of the creatures straight through the face with his sword, ripping it out just in time to block an attack by yet another Hurlock. He expertly retaliated and slashed the throat of the creature, causing it to fall to the ground choking on its own blood. Now that the Hurlocks seemed to be dealt with, their smaller kin were left. Genlocks, though small were fierce and could deal some serious damage, especially in numbers.

To keep the distance between him and the Genlocks, he used a wave of fire to push them back. He counted four remaining Genlocks yet knew there would be more on their way. Two of them closed in on him and he quickly stabbed one in the shoulder, using his other hand to grasp the bald head of the other Genlock. Both creatures let out shouts of pain, one getting his head and brain engulfed in flames whilst the other ripped the sword from the Warden's hands and retreated in order to remove it from his shoulder.

Soaked in sweat on the inside, soaked with black blood on the outside, the Warden knew he had to act fast. Three Genlocks now angrily closed in on him and he had mere seconds to react. He quickly drew two daggers, sliding them so the blades were in his hands. With quick and expert aim he tossed them into the heads of two Genlocks, killing the one he had merely stabbed and another that was closest to him. The remaining Darkspawn let out a loud roar before rushing towards the Warden, who quickly kicked the creature in the gut. It growled as it fell backwards and got its weapon torn from its hands.

The Warden tossed the corrupted axe to the ground and readied himself to deal with the Genlock hand-to-hand. As the creature charged him, he grabbed it by the arms and slammed it into the ground. Unsheathing his final dagger, he knelt on the back of the Genlock and caused it to squirm. For a creature of corruption, it made him smile when he saw such a thing squirm underneath him. Taking the dagger, he quickly plunged it into the back of its neck, twisting until the creature stopped moving.

He wiped the blade on the back of the Darkspawn before standing up and sheathing it. He did the same for the other weapons he had unsheathed. Looking around at the bodies, he let loose a loud sigh.

"Times are going dark. I can feel it." He muttered under his breath, looking up at the treetops. Hearing hissing from within the cave, he turned around and rushed down the path. With luck he could get there before the Dalish awoke. _If_ she awoke.

* * *

Lyna twisted and turned in her slumber. Her sleep had brought her a strange dream that she did not know what to think of. It was almost as if it was a vision.

"_Girl, I have been training you ever since we left your camp. Have you learned nothing?" A strange man clad in black plate taunted at her. _

_She growled back, slamming both of her Dar'Misu against his Dwarvish Longsword. She could tell he was smiling under that helmet of his. Without warning, the man delivered a harsh punch to her stomach and then swiped her feet out from under, ending his maneuver by putting the tip of his sword to her throat. _

"_You're dead." He stated with a grim tone, pointing at the river. "Get up and clean yourself for supper. Duncan should be arriving shortly with firewood. You've a long day tomorrow, we will be arriving at Ostagar and there will be no time for rest once there." He ordered. To her surprise she followed his commands without complaint and walked over to the running water._

_She dipped her slender, pale fingers into the cool water and shivered before cupping her hands and splashing her face with the cool liquid. Something about the man in Black worried her. He seemed to be disconnected with the world around him, to the point she doubted anything could get to him. He was dangerous, that much she knew._

_Once she finished cleaning the sweat and dirt off of herself, she got up and walked over to him again. "So, how many of you are there?" She asked, hoping to start a conversation with him. "One." He responded and she instantly knew the error of her question. _

_She gave an irritated sigh and shook her head, "How many Wardens, I mean." He crossed his arms and for a brief moment she could see his blood-red glowing eyes. "Not enough." He responded and she threw her arms up. "I give up!" She declared before her expression fell silent with her words. _

_The man appeared alarmed and before she could turn around to see what at, he grabbed her and turned around so she was standing where he once was. With his arms around her protecting her, she could feel his body jerk four times. Each time accompanied by a grunt of pain. It was then she saw six Darkspawn with corrupted bows and arrows._

* * *

Lyna's eyes fluttered open and she was greeted by the black armored man looking directly at her. Panic set in as she saw his red eyes, causing her to jump up from the bedroll she was laying on.

"Hamin, child. There is no need for alarm." He growled as the Keeper walked up beside him.

"This is Shadow, da'len. He is a Grey Warden and has come here with Duncan, they are both good friends of mine. He requested to stay by your side until you recovered." Marethari spoke calmly, her voice managing to soothe the panicking Lyna.

Her brief period of calm turned into confusion and rising anger. "Keeper! He sounds like a shem!" She said a bit louder than she originally intended, causing several others turn their gazes towards them.

Before Marethari could speak, the Warden took her place quickly. "Emma. I kn-" He began to explain before Lyna rushed up and tried to punch him.

His reflexes kicked in before she could land her attack and he quickly grabbed her fist. Twisting her hand, pulling it behind her and grabbing the other before she could use it. She found her back against his front, one of her arms stretched tightly behind her back and the other stretched diagonally in front of her, his arm tight against her neck. He pulled both arms and what would send her twirling away like a top, merely tripped her as he placed his foot in front of her path. She landed with a grunt before looking up at him with anger in her eyes.

"You really are weak, you didn't even hurt me!" Lyna taunted him, but he did nothing but shake his head. "If I wanted to hurt you, girl, I would have. Now get up, Keeper Marethari wishes to speak with you and I really must be off now that I know you are well."

Lyna disregarded his order, jumping up to her feet and letting loose a long lasting growl as she rushed towards him. He simply outstretched his arms, giving her an open chest for a target. She took it, rage clouding her mind as she slammed her fist against his armored chest. She let out a shrill shriek of pain, causing her 'foe' to laugh. Marethari sighed and shook her head, approaching the both of them.

"Are you two done? Please behave yourselves in my camp." The Keeper spoke, sounding highly annoyed.

Shadow gave a respectful and apologizing bow. "My apologies, Keeper Marethari. Do you wish anything of me or may I go?" He asked with an apologetic tone still in his voice.

She nodded. "Please stay. Da'len, I want you to seek out Merrill, I am sending you to look for Tamlen. I also find myself curious about this mirror I have heard about, and wish for Merrill to examine it for me. As for you, Warden, if it is true that Darkspawn are roaming around the area I would feel much better knowing you are with the two of them." She told the two and both gave a respectful bow.

"Ma nuvenin, Keeper." Both Shadow and Lyna said, resulting in two different reactions from them. Lyna growled at the Warden whilst he shook his head at her anger.

"Ma serannas. Return to us well, and hopefully with Tamlen." Marethari said before walking away.

As the Keeper's back was turned on them, Lyna gave Shadow a death glare. "I will wait for you near the way out. Meet me there when you are ready to go." He said to her before turning and walking away.

* * *

The walk was long and silent. Merrill and Lyna talked occasionally with each other but Shadow kept true to what his name implies. He was walking a few feet behind the two, not wanting to interrupt them. Not wanting to be noticed. They were on the path to the cave now and everything seemed quiet.

He sensed them before they could make their first move. He drew both his blades quickly just as six Genlocks jumped from the cliff to their right. Four Genlock archers appeared further down the path as well as their guard of two Genlock grunts.

Merrill let out a surprised yelp at the sudden appearance of the horrid monsters, not realizing one would have impaled her on his blade had Shadow not interrupted him with cutting his arms off.

Shadow parried one of the Genlock's attacks, "You two focus on the archers and their guards. Do **not** let their blood so much as touch you." He ordered the two women before riposting the parried Genlock. Whilst his blade was stuck in the chest of the creature, another one tried to attack him, but he blocked it with his other blade.

Merrill took cover behind a thin tree so the archers couldn't hit her whilst she aided Shadow, making sure the other Darkspawn couldn't get to him whilst he was busy. She shot one with an electric bolt that caused the creature to shriek and convulse, ultimately ending in it falling to its death.

Lyna quickly performed a wall-run, readying three throwing knives before launching herself off of the natural stone wall and towards the Darkspawn archers. She threw the three daggers, killing their targets quickly. Now there were only three archers and they were in unfavorable conditions. They dropped their bows and unsheathed their swords, engaging in close combat with Lyna.

Having retrieved his blades he continued fighting the remaining three Genlocks, imbuing his swords with electricity, quickly tapping them together to cause the swords to hiss at the contact confirming their voltage. As the Darkspawn closed in on him he slammed his swords into the ground, sending electric bolts crackling up at the creatures as well as forming a rune-like circle around him. The Darkspawn screamed loudly, several seconds later they fell over, smoking and convulsing due to their electrified bodies.

Merrill was surprised by what she had just witnessed, but both her and Shadow turned to see Lyna finishing off her final opponent. The elf huntress slammed the Genlock against the stone wall before quickly penetrating the back of its neck with her Dar'misu. The creature gurgled before she ripped out her blade sideways, forcing her foe's head to fall to that side before its corpse fell to the ground.

Hands, chest, and bottom of her feet were covered in black blood. There were now two large pools of tainted blood on the path. The one she made and the one Shadow and Merrill made together. The two of them rejoined Lyna and Shadow nodded at her.

"Impressive." He said before he took the lead, heading towards the cave.

* * *

The rest of their mission was uneventful. They fought more Darkspawn with relative ease, found Duncan, destroyed the mirror, and returned to the Dalish camp, sad to learn Tamlen was gone for good. Now, Lyna, Marethari, and the Wardens discussed the young elf's cure.

"Our order is in need of help. You are in need of a cure. When we leave, I hope you will join us. You would make an excellent Grey Warden." Duncan said, crossing his arms. He meant his words, and Lyna know that, but something was off. It seemed rather one-sided.

"Me? A Grey Warden? No. No way. I am not leaving my clan!" Lyna protested, earning a growl from Shadow. She ignored it, as did the others.

"This is not madness, da'len. It means curing you." Marethari spoke softly and Lyna couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed.

"The Darkspawn blood courses through your veins, and you have survived due to your Keeper's healing and your own will. But eventually, the taint will sicken and kill you, or worse. The Grey Wardens can prevent that, but it means joining us." Duncan informed her with a hint of nothing but seriousness in his voice.

Lyna sighed, "Will I be able to rejoin my clan?" She asked curiously.

"That is doubtful, girl. Once we leave here, we go to fight the Darkspawn and it is highly unlikely you will be able to return." Shadow spoke up, the rough grim and quiet tone of his voice only deepening.

She shook her head, "No. I would rather take my chances, I will not go." She stated with anger and defiance in her voice.

A few more minutes of trying to persuade her occurred, each time however, she rejected it.

"This is all I've ever known! This is my home!" She desperately cried out to the Keeper and Duncan. "I do not want to leave it, I will not. If there is no guarantee I will return, I'd rather die with my people than away from them!" That phrase reminded Shadow of a younger version of himself. He frowned behind the safety of his helmet.

"A home the Darkspawn will tear apart. You can help us prevent that from ever happening." Duncan said with growing annoyance in his voice.

The Keeper broke out in a tone that indicated she was on the verge of tears. "You do not know how hard it is to send one of our daughters out on a journey such as this. But if that is what the Creators intend for you, da'len, meet your destiny with your head held high. No matter where you go, you are Dalish. Remember that."

"I refuse to listen to this! I will not go!" She shouted as she turned around to walk away.

Before she could take a step Shadow put his arm in front of her, pressing it against her chest so she may not move in any direction but backwards. She faintly blushed with embarrassment as she realized where his arm was before shaking her head and letting her anger take over again. This was no time for her to worry about such matters, especially since he was a shem.

"Then you leave me no choice. I hereby invoke the Rite of Conscription." Duncan stated with an apologetic tone in his voice. Marethari looked at him and nodded. "I witness and acknowledge your invocation, Duncan of the Grey Wardens."

"I am sorry this was not your choice, but the Darkspawn threat is simply too great." He said with his dark tone returning. "I will have Shadow drag you kicking and screaming to Ostagar, if I must. Would you rather die here, and sicken your own people?" He asked.

"I know you'll do your clan proud, da'len. Take this ring. It is your heritage and will protect you against the Darkspawn to come." Marethari said as she handed Lyna a ring. The young elf took the ring and put it on quickly. "A valuable gift," Duncan stated, "Very well. Are you ready to g-" She raised her hand briefly to silence him before she began pulling Shadow by the arm towards the exit of the camp.

She had to go, it would be easier to do so in silence. The Warden let her drag him a few feet before ripping himself from her grasp. "That was rude, girl." He growled at her and she simply shook her head, an angered expression dominating her rather young and beautiful face.

"You of all people know silence. It is easier to leave with silence than to see their faces and have your heart broken more than it already is." She told him, knowing that he was a man of silence because of the sound of his voice and just his personality that she had picked up on so far.

He nodded before quietly speaking, "Come then. Duncan has a few things to clear up here. We can meet him on the West Road where he'll be departing for his final potential recruit in Highever. You and I will head to Ostagar." With those words spoken they left the camp together, leaving Duncan to talk with Marethari.

* * *

They had been walking for half an hour in silence. Occasionally she'd speak for what Shadow thought was just to remove the lonely feeling silence caused. "So is that shem always like that?" She asked him with anger in her voice as she thought of Duncan.

He simply nodded in response. Her lips slowly curved into a small frown. Before she took another step forward, he grabbed her roughly and pulled her back placing his shield in front of her face. With three thuds she saw three arrowheads sticking through it.

"You need to watch where you are going, girl." He said in his growl before he whipped the shield at one of the bandits attacking them.

It spun in the air clockwise until it hit the man straight in the face, with a nasty crack it broke not only the bandit's face, but the shield as well. The Warden rushed towards the group, wielding his two swords once more. They stood two against at least twenty.

What bandits were doing in such a large number and in the forest, they did not know. Often bandits were nothing but a small group consisting of five to ten men with armor that wouldn't stop a pin going through. These men were equipped with armor forged within one of the cities, as it was efficient enough to be used in battle. Such a thing was uncommon among normal bandits as those who tried to attack soldiers often found their fates swift and brutal.

The men surrounded them with their weapons ready, Lyna and Shadow both saw several archers positioned within the trees. One of the bandits walked forward, pointing his sword directly at Shadow.

"What you did to my friend? That was **really** rude. He probably won't have a face anymore. Why did you do that?" The man with a strange accent not familiar to either of them spoke. He had a tone of insanity in his voice.

"Let us go and you will not be harmed. You may even live to see another day. I can not say the same about your friend. He's gone." Shadow taunted as he dropped his swords to the ground.

The man chuckled, "What's this? Tough guy is surrendering? You know you just threatened us, right? Whatever, we decline your offer any-" Before he could finish his sentence he found an ice spike sticking through his chest.

The archers fired in a petty attempt to avenge what Shadow thought was their leader, but their arrows simply got shredded when they hit the blue magic shield that surrounding both of their targets. Two mages rushed up to the front and cut their hands. Blood Magic.

"Girl, focus on the archers. I'll take care of our mage friends and keep the others off of you for as long as I possibly can." Shadow ordered before rushing towards the blood mages.

Quickly drawing her bow, Lyna gave him covering fire. Whoever had trained these archers were good as the archers were hopping from branch to branch trying to avoid getting shot down by Lyna. As Shadow reached the two blood mages, he quickly delivered punches to their faces, his fists surrounded by fire. They screamed loudly as their faces got scorched and torn by what would have felt like metal fresh from the forge's fires.

As the mages fell to their knees grabbing at their faces only making the wounds worse, Shadow soon felt himself surrounded by an inferno. Abominations made their way through the ranks of the bandits. A magic barrier forming around him, he held out his arm in front of his face and the fiery wind went around him. He snarled, feeling the intense heat against his face as he slowly made his way closer to the abominations. The two blood mages who failed at killing him in time were now charred corpses on the forest floor.

Lyna readied two arrows and let them loose, expertly taking down two of the archers as they were in the air. The men shouted as the arrows penetrated their legs, causing them to lose focus and smash their chests into the branches before falling down to the forest floor with loud thuds.

Shadow frowned, the abominations still attempting to scorch him. He knew there was little point in trying to fend off these bandits, or what ever they really were. Sure, fighting until they died would make it safer for the people around this area to move around, however, he and Lyna would surely perish if they kept on fighting. Was he willing to risk that?

He narrowed his eyes before letting his magic shield fall as he retaliated against the flames with a blizzard of ice blasting through to the abominations. He screamed in agony as the flames cooked him within his armor. The flames were so intense the metal on his arms had begun to melt, fusing with his clothing and some flesh underneath. The bandits charged when they saw he was still standing, hoping to kill him whilst he was distracted by pain.

Lyna's gaze quickly darted to Shadow as she heard him scream before quickly drawing an arrow and firing it into the head of one of the abominations. The creature let loose a guttural scream before erupting into a blast of fire. Like a chain reaction set off by the first one, the other abominations followed. This effectively took out a majority of the bandits, though seven of them closed in on Shadow. Four arrows zoomed passed her, causing her to shift her gaze from Shadow to the trees once more.

As the seven bandits got close, Shadow quickly unsheathed two daggers disregarding the intense pain he felt in his entire body. As the first man neared, he got his throat cut and the second man immediately found a dagger in his forehead. The third attempted to strike, but was quickly parried by Shadow's other arm before finding the dagger stuck in his chest several times. Ripping his right dagger from the forehead of the second man, he quickly charged it with electricity before throwing it at the fourth man. As it impacted into his heart several bolts traveled to two of his remaining allies' weapons as well as his own, causing them all to fall to the ground, convulsing as the electricity burned their flesh and continued to fry their insides. The seventh man slowly came to a stop as he reached Shadow, dropping his weapons and falling to his knees.

Lyna spotted the final archer trying to retreat, but shot him in the back so he fell down the long drop to the forest floor. Readying another arrow, she approached the man Shadow was standing over. The area seemed clear, all of the archers had been killed.

Shadow knelt down so he could look the man in the eyes, holding his dagger out close to the bandit so he could see the blood of his comrades drip from it. "Who are you lot? Where do you hail from? Who is your leader? Why were you with Maleficarum?" Shadow asked in a snarl, his tone so venomous it made the man whimper.

The man cried out desperately, "W-We are called t-the Awakeners... we are l-led by a mysterious man... he doesn't show his face or give his name! O-only our officers are allowed to be in his presence! We come from all around Thedas! A-Apostates are welcomed in our order!"

Shadow nodded, "Good. What do you... _Awakeners_ do exactly?" He asked curiously.

"I... I can't tell you! They'll kill me! He is watching... he is always watching..." The man responded with fear in his voice.

Shadow got up to his feet and sighed, shaking his head. "Here I thought I'd be able to let you go. Rest well, scum." He snarled before planting his dagger in the top of the man's head, twisting it before ripping it out and sheathing it.

Lyna's eyes widened as she saw the slaughter of someone who surrendered, but said nothing. Shadow walked all around, gathering his other dagger and sheathing it. His shield and swords were no use, the flames had rendered them useless. Not to mention his shield shattered upon impact with the face of the bandit.

"Come. We've got to get to Lothering. We will stop there and stay to heal my wounds before continuing to Ostagar. We've a few days before the battle begins, anyway." He groaned as he continued down the path.

Lyna rushed to catch up with the limping man groaning in impatience, "I don't want to wait. I want to get this 'Joining' over and done with as soon as possible." The man shook his head, remaining silent.

* * *

They walked quietly for an hour, they were on main road by then. To the left was the Brecillian forest and to the right was the Bannorn, mostly known for being the backbone of Ferelden. It was mostly grassland save for a few trees here and there.

Much to Lyna's surprise, Shadow answered her demands from an hour ago. "Good. Then you can wait for the eve of battle. That is when the Joining Ritual will take place. I don't know if you have ever been in, or near the Bannorn, but welcome. This land is a land full of people more stubborn and prone to fighting with each other than the Dwarves. I exaggerate naught, the greed of these men got the point a war was fought just for an apple tree."

His elf companion sighed before looking at him with amusement. It was truly remarkable how quickly he seemed to dull the pain of his injuries. What would have crippled normal men seemed to merely wound him whilst at the same time seeming to make him stronger in an unknown way. She was a handful, but compared to the others who were ordered to stay at Lothering until Duncan claimed them, well... she was mild to say the least. This was going to be a long journey. Shadow could feel it.

* * *

**Author's Note: Dear JustAnotherWriterLikeYou****, this was submitted in less than 1 hours, smarty pants. :P In other news, I hope you, dear audience, enjoyed the first chapter of Dragon Age: Group of Exiles! **


	2. Prologue - Chapter 2

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Chapter 2: The Noble Kinslayer and the Blasphemer_

Duran Aeducan, the middle son of King Endrin Aeducan had been exiled to the treacherous Deep Roads to wander for the rest of his days. This was his punishment for killing his eldest sibling, Trian Aeducan, though it was a false accusation made by his youngest brother, Bhelen. He did this in order to secure his power base. The truth was, Duran loved his brother Trian, more so than he did Bhelen. His bastard of a younger brother set him up **and** killed their own brother in the process, thus securing his 'rights' to the throne.

If it was one thing he had to praise Bhelen on, it was being able to manipulate everyone so that they may give him his advantage over others. Both Trian and Duran stood as threats to his power base, thus he had them eliminated. Because the Assembly did not believe Duran's story, they had exiled him and this made people he once called friends hate him. Though how could he blame them? His brother was one manipulative son of a nug.

The exiled Dwarf was equipped with tattered prison clothing. His hair was red and long, as was his beard. Both neatly groomed so that they did not look messy, but rather what you would expect from a noble son of the king. He had wandered the Deep Roads for hours, not really encountering anything of note. In his time wandering, however, he had found makeshift weapons and armor, scavenged from fallen men, women, and creatures alike. He heard light footsteps approach from behind him.

He quickly spun around and pointed his sword at the source of the footsteps, and his eyes went wide when he saw who it was. Natia Brosca, the casteless 'blasphemer' who snuck her way into the Proving and won. She was exiled out to the Deep Roads a few weeks before Duran.

"Brosca?" He muttered in a surprised tone and the dark haired woman nodded.

"Aye, it's me. Didn't expect to be seein' a son of the king this far out in the Deep Roads. 'Specially dressed in that." She said in a thick Dwarvish accent. Her words made Duran chuckle lightly, before it faded and turned into a frown.

"That is because I was exiled as well. My youngest brother set me up and killed our eldest brother, framing me. Two nugs with one club." He informed his fellow exile who shrugged.

She looked him in the eyes as she spoke softly, "Well, you can always come with me, Lord Aeducan. We can find our way out of here alive. My friend, Leske, told me about a group of Grey Wardens somewhere within the Deep Roads. I was on my way to find them now, actually, if you want to come with…"

"That'd be grand. Thank you, Natia. Lead the way." He said, letting her take the lead.

* * *

As the woman led him through the Deep Roads, he couldn't help but chuckle at how ridiculous the situation was. He, a noble, was betrayed by his youngest brother and forced into exile. He came across **the** exile and they became traveling buddies. What were the odds of something like that happening? Now their only hope of survival was a group of Grey Wardens who may not even still be within the Deep Roads. His luck, they probably all left because their duty, what ever that may have been, was done long before he even got exiled.

Natia stopped as they both heard hissing coming from up ahead. They took cover behind one of the large stone pillars that decorated the Deep Roads, keeping the many caves from collapsing in on themselves. Of course, that did not mean occasional collapses were uncommon.

"Hear that?" Natia asked Duran in a hushed voice. The Dwarf noble nodded.

"Darkspawn. Try peeking around the corner, see if you can count how many are there." She commanded him. Funny how an ex-thug was leading an ex-noble.

He peeked his head around the corner slowly before withdrawing it just as eleven arrows flew passed his face. He swore under his breath, in the short time he had to count he'd give the Darkspawn at least twenty strong. Natia looked at him with curiosity.

He didn't need her to say what she wanted, "I count somewhere between twenty to forty Darkspawn. They are not happy with us, either." He informed her and she chuckled.

"Only twenty to forty? Bah, I took down fifteen of Orzammar's finest. Let's get to work, lemme see what you're made of, Lord Aeducan." She responded with a challenging tone in her voice.

Before she could even make a move, a Genlock Assassin appeared from the corner of the pillar, about to stab her had Duran not intervened by slamming his shield in the creature's face. It hissed in pain as it fell on its back. Taking this opportunity, Duran quickly stabbed its throat before moving from the cover of the pillar with his shield up.

* * *

_Endrin looked at his second son, patting him on the shoulder gently. "My boy, in Orzammar there are two kinds of people. People that fight for their lives, and people that have given up hope. I won't lie to you, my son, at times giving up seems like the easiest and best thing to do. But you are an Aeducan-our blood does not allow us to simply 'give up'."_

_Young Duran knew this speech all too well. He sighed as they walked the stone floors of the royal house. He knew the amount of faith his father placed in him was grand, and to break that faith would be like spitting in his face._

_"I know father, we've had this talk countless times before…" Duran said, the annoyance in his voice giving his thoughts away. _

_Endrin sighed. All of his children had the burning desire to continue going on for what they believe in, despite incredible odds. However, his second son suffered from disregarding vital knowledge that could prove useful to him later. His son was a soldier and a leader, something that can get you far in the world of Dwarves, but he had to be prepared to be king. A king does not only fight and lead men into battle. He has to lead an entire civilization, watch over economy, politics, and general issues that his son seemed to think petty. _

_"You are right, my son. We should focus on getting you a mind for politics. After all, you may be king someday, and knowledge is vital for a king." Endrin said with a smile, knowing what his son's reaction would be. _

_Sure enough, Duran let out a low growl. This caused Endrin to laugh loudly. When he stopped, his face returned to a serious state that chilled Duran. _

_He looked into his son's eyes before he spoke, "Duran. As with everyone, there will come a time in your life that you find yourself alone. You may not be alone physically, but know this; friends and allies are always around you, though they may come in a form most unlike what you expect."_

* * *

Duran found himself pinned against the stone wall of the Deep Roads by a Hurlock Alpha's shield. Before the beast could run his sword through the pinned Dwarf's face, Natia had jumped on its back, stabbing it violently in the neck with one of her daggers. After the Hurlock fell to the ground dead, she ripped the shield pinning Duran away, freeing her unlikely comrade.

They both were drenched in the black blood of the Darkspawn, by then they had carved through most of their group. Only four were left and they decided that rather than flee, they'd charge their slaughterers. Two Genlocks rushed for Duran whilst the Hurlock and Shriek went for Natia.

Before the Darkspawn reached them, the Dwarves had to cover their eyes so the black blood didn't get in them as several arrows pierced the creatures' bodies. After hearing the four thuds they uncovered their eyes and saw four Grey Wardens with bows raised directly at them.

"Two Dwarves this deep in the Deep Roads alone? What are you, Legion of Dead?" A female Human asked.

Duran shook his head as he explained to them their situation, "No, we're exiles from Orzammar. We heard Grey Wardens were not too far so we sought you out. At least, I'm assuming you are Wardens."

"He is the king's second son. If he's an exile he must have done something horrible." The Elf explained to his comrades in a calm, wise tone.

Natia seemed angered slightly at the hint that Duran did something wrong. Out of all the King's sons, Duran was her favorite. Her personality and his just matched together, both got things done in a soldier-like attitude rather than beating around the bush like politicians.

Duran shook his head, "I do not need to explain why I was exiled. We heard Wardens are in need of new recruits for a Blight. If you do not wish our help, which look around you; it'd be useful, at least help us escape to the surface."

None of the Wardens second guessed recruiting the two Dwarves. They were ordered to find potential recruits and these two Dwarves killed more than forty Darkspawn. With that they set back towards Orzammar, it was the quickest route to the surface.

The Dwarves did not like accepting the two back in their city, but they allowed them passage as it would only be for a few minutes so they could get to the surface and get lost for good. If their rumors were true, there was no stone on the surface to protect you from flying off into a great abyss.

Once on the surface they made their way to a main road the Wardens called the 'Imperial Highway', to a place named Lothering. There they would wait until Duncan and all of the other Warden recruits arrived. Once everyone was regrouped, they'd head south to Ostagar for their Joining and the great battle to end this Blight before it began.

* * *

They were the first ones to arrive at the inn. The village of Lothering was rather small and mostly farmland. By then the two Dwarves had gotten used to the fact they wouldn't fall off the ground and into the sky. They were hungry and thirsty after a long day of travel.

The inn itself was small and rather shameful compared to what both the Dwarves were used to. The female Warden approached the Innkeeper and slammed a large sack of coins on the table.

"Two rooms for four days. The rest will cover food and drink for those days as well." She growled and the man simply nodded as he put the coin purse away. Who was he to argue with such an offer? He knew there was plenty of coin in that sack.

"You lot get the two rooms upstairs, then. If you need food just ask me or Ursula." He informed the group as they all nodded and headed to their rooms.

"The recruits are split up. Duran is with Tooth and I, Natia is with Henry and Dillon. Those are the sleeping arrangements, understood?" The woman asked and everyone nodded.

"Good. If the rest aren't here in four days we're headed south without them."

With that, the group split apart. Some went into the rooms to set their stuff down whilst Duran and Natia simply sat there, looking down at the people below. Natia and Duran both sighed at the same time.

Their thoughts were on their partners they had before their exilement. Leske for Natia, and Gorim for Duran. They were in the same situation as each other, ripped away from the friends they have had practically since birth. Gorim did have a plan, he said he was going to the surface and heading for the city of Denerim. Leske, however, he would probably rot away in the dungeon. He was a criminal and casteless. As such, he would be treated like dirt and his options would be very limited.

"Life is only going to get harder from here on out, Natia. I hope you are prepared to fight with everything you got." Duran said grimly to his companion.

The woman nodded before turning around and heading into her assigned room. Night time was fast approaching and everyone was tired from their journey. Natia and Duran more so than the Wardens, as they fought off a small warband of Darkspawn before walking miles on end to get here. Duran turned around to head to his room when a memory hit him.

"_Remember, my son. Aeducans never give up. Our blood refuses to let us. No matter how bad a situation may be, you will always prevail, for you are an Aeducan! My son! Remember that. Always."_

It was rare to see a Dwarf cry, but this memory made the strongest soldier Natia knew have tears fall down his face. His father probably hated him now, all because of that bastard Bhelen!

"I will have revenge, dear brother. One day." Duran growled, wiping his tears away as his sadness turned to rage. Hopefully he could calm down enough for sleep.

**Author's Corner: **

**Hello pretties. I see you have made it to the end of chapter 2, that's great. First thing you'll notice is this chapter is VERY short compared to the first one, and that's because I didn't go through the entirety of the two Origin stories like with Lyna and Shadow. I'm debating if I should go through the entire Origin stories with the others or not. I probably will with the Cousland and Mages (hey the two mages will be together, yay for even shorter shortness) storylines since they're rather short. City Elf, maybe, I'm not sure.**

**We'll see where the journey takes us. Next chapter will probably be the mages, considering Duncan is on his way to get the City Elf and Cousland. As I explained in the update, Cousland will be 'real time' like Lyna so, yeah, I just didn't think of the City Elf during that update. Hope you guys enjoyed! I'm off to go play the mage origin story!**


	3. Prologue - Chapter 3

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Chapter 3: The birth of the Shadow Warden_

"So, are you going to tell me your story whilst we rest, shem?" Lyna asked the Warden who was currently watching the affect the wind had on the green scenery.

"There is nothing to say." He replied in his usual growl. This caused his companion to chuckle.

She shook her head at him, "Everyone has some form of story. If you do not wish to tell me the story of your entire life, why not just tell me about how you became a Grey Warden?"

He turned his gaze from the scenery and stared at the Elf behind the cover of his helmet. The red orbs that were his eyes visible in the darkness behind the helmet.

"Most of us do not come from great backgrounds, but if it will sate your seemingly unending appetite for my past, so be it." He growled at her.

* * *

_It began four years ago, in the Deeproads. My friend since birth and I were wandering down there because we had taken a bounty for some lost treasure. We were not going to pass up the opportunity for an easy three thousand gold. We hated the Deeproads, it was everything we didn't like. Dark, closed in, Darkspawn-filled, if you could walk five feet without running into some form of danger you could consider yourself blessed by the Maker himself._

_We were nothing but peasants in the eyes of rich folk and warriors alike. We wore simple clothes, fought with chipped and cheap swords. The sons of farmers. It was no surprise to us when we met the Dwarf we worked for that he laughed at us and said we had four days until he decided we were dead. The bastard didn't even have our money ready, and I figured as much. The entire deal seemed off but my friend demanded we take it._

_We had been wandering the Deeproads for well over four days, we never found the damned Thaig he was talking about. It was beginning to look more and more like a set up, but who would go to such lengths to set up two peasants? We came to a crossroads, and something felt off. The air was as cold as ice, and something about it seemed to be choking us. Leeching our lives away slowly each moment we took a breath._

"_Well this place seems sinister." Henry stated. Like me at the time, he didn't have any real training aside from the hard work of farming. Our bodies were strong, but they were nothing compared to a true warrior's. He had long black hair and a patchy beard. I always told him that look didn't suit him, he was more of a short hair, no beard kind of guy. _

_I sighed as I walked in the middle of the crossroads, evidence of a recent battle was everywhere, "Yeah, really? I had no idea. It's not like there are corpses of Darkspawn, Dwarves, and Humans alike. Keep an eye out, either the Darkspawn are killing each other, or we've something bigger than Darkspawn on our hands. The wounds are too violent even for Darkspawn - prolonged, and there are humans down here. Something is off." _

"_Oh sod off, Logan." My friend said with a laugh as he walked up to my side. _

_Before we could move on, a bright purple flame bursted to life right in front of us. A tall, mostly nude woman with hair of bright purple flames appeared from the fire and walked towards me. I've heard of demons, and was certain that this was one of them. Something about her, however, sucked me in - ensnared me. _

"_Oh my dear Logan…" She said seductively, her form changing into that of tall, beautiful blonde woman. "Don't you remember me from when we were young?" She asked._

"_N-No, I don't. I am sorry, my lady." I replied as I unknowingly stepped closer to her. _

_My friend tried to stop me, but I didn't notice him. No, I was too focused on this enchanting woman in front of my very eyes. I reached out to touch her when I heard my friend's voice break through what ever spell this woman put me under. _

"_Logan! She's a bloody demon! Don't do something you'll regret!" He warned. _

_I protested, "She's no demon, Henry, look at her! She's beautiful…" Saying that earned me a long, passionate kiss from the lady._

"She's got a tail, hooves, horns, fire-hair… I'm pretty sure she's a damn demon mate!" He shouted at me, what I thought was my new lover looked me in the eyes.

_As tears poured down her face, she asked me to kill the one who was offending her. I turned around facing Henry, knowing now that the woman, or rather that the __**demon**__ was trying to cast a spell on me. I readied my sword, and I could feel the demon's sinister smile, it thought it had succeeded in enchanting me into doing it's bidding. Oh, how it was wrong. Whether or not it sensed my magical nature, I did not know. However, it was caught off guard when my flaming sword went right through its chest. It let out a gasp, wrapping its arms around me.  
_

"_Well… done… you are not like the others…" The feminine voice whispered in my ear before I felt her body slip from my blade. _

_I looked over to see Henry frowning, "Damn it… Logan, this isn't going to look good." He said with worry in his voice. _

_I slowly turned around and looked down at the body. I felt a wave of panic and fear slam into me like an Ogre's fist. The corpse of a Dwarf woman was laying on the ground where the demon would be, a hole in her chest with scorch marks all around and inside it. _

"_No. That's not possible - Dwarves don't live in fear of demons or magic. They are immune to it. That's what I was always told!" I said, panic thick in my voice. _

_It wasn't long before we heard the sounds of clanking armor, accompanied by the voice of our employer, "There they are! Just like they told me they would be! Get them!" he shouted. _

_I turned around and saw the large group of charging Dwarves. Both me and Henry had the same reaction - we dropped our weapons and got to our knees. We saw no mercy from the Dwarves. It wasn't long until I saw Henry get killed, an axe decapitated him. I screamed loudly, until my throat and lungs ached, it was my time. I felt a sharp pain enter my chest, and what happened next, I do not know. Darkness devoured my vision._

* * *

_I woke up in a dark part of the Deeproads, if it was even the Deeproads I do not know to this day. All I can say was it was underground. My eyes slowly opened, they were heavy as if someone placed anvils on top of them. _

"_Good, you awaken." I heard that familiar feminine voice say, "You showed me I cannot possess you, yet you are strong. I've decided to take you as my champion. Against others of my kind, as well as the inhabitants of your world. Rise, and I will train you in the forbidden arts, together we will be powerful!"_

_I sighed as I slowly got to my feet. "I will not fight you, as long as you promise me the power to destroy the entirety of Orzammar." I growled, clenching my fists tightly. The betrayal of the Dwarves still fresh in my mind. _

"_Oh yes… and more… No one will stand in your way, Logan. You and I will become conquerors! Rulers of Thedas. Of the world! Of the Fade!" The Demon offered, causing me to laugh maniacally. _

"_Good. You know a way up to the surface without having to deal with those bearded empty headed creatures?" I asked her curiously. _

"_Mmhmm… we're in the tunnel right now, my dear." She responded. _

_I looked around the room now, trying to find the location of my new master. Soon I saw a small cat shift into the demon I saw once before, and defeated. I grumbled quietly to myself, how did she… or it do that?_

"_What you see before you is my… 'real' form. Otherwise, I can show any mortal what they want to see. Don't bother keeping secrets from me, or shy away from asking me questions. I know your mind, and through our connection I can read everything you think, feel. Though do not worry, as much as you are mine… I am yours…" She said in that seductive voice of her's as she approached me slowly. _

_She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I'd be lying if I said being that close to her didn't spark a hunger from deep inside of me. "Let us go to the surface to find me a suitable body. Then, my dear, we can begin everything. Find a Templar, get his armor, infiltrate that tower in the middle of the lake and find me a body you like, yet a body that is strong and capable." She said, licking my neck before vanishing from my sight. _

'_Was that real?' I thought to myself quietly, looking down at the scar upon my bare chest. 'As real as death.' She responded, the fact it seemed she was in my head worried me. However, I simply shrugged it off as I made my way to the surface._

* * *

'_You know, you haven't said as much as a word to me for the past few days.' The Demon said in my mind, sounding rather unamused. I sighed and kept on walking, but it was no use. She kept on persisting, not leaving me alone to the glorious silence I once was able to retreat to. 'That's probably because I have nothing to speak about, __**Vanessa**__.' I thought back, anger growing within me. _

_We came to the small village next to the castle of Redcliffe. It was no surprise I felt a power drawing me towards this location - many apostates head to Redcliffe when they leave the Circle Tower. It made me curious what the world would label me as if they knew my position. I was a mage who managed to evade the Chantry and their pet dogs, having been able to hide my magic at a young age. On top of that, right now I currently had a demon who constantly liked pestering me. Whether it be in my mind, or outside of it, Vanessa loved being everything but silent._

_The village was a fair size, though I have seen larger. Like Lothering, though that was surrounded by countless farms. The source of power was acting like a beacon to me, I knew exactly where in the village it was. The tavern. Who would have thought? I saw a mouse scurry by my feet. _

"_Squeak, squeak." It said in it's high-pitched voice, stopping to gaze up at me. I shook my head at it._

_With a sigh I continued walking, "You're not fooling me, Vanessa. Let's get you your precious body and get on with our lives." I grumbled. I knew it was her, because most mice do not usually want to be found by larger, more scarier beings than themselves._

_I opened the wooden door to the tavern and was instantly greeted by the sight of a woman trying to hide herself in a corner table. 'Well, she's not suspicious at all.' I thought to myself with a grin as I slowly approached her. She saw that she had caught my interest and instantly stood up, preparing to attack. She must have thought me to be an agent of the Templars, or something of that sort. The door slammed shut, and was frozen solid by a thick layer of ice. No one would be getting in or out as long as that spell was active. _

_The other patrons of the tavern were panicking at this point, trying to find a way out. They would find none. 'Release your rage, my love...' Vanessa said, 'Just do not release too much, I want to have fun with you too.' I can't even remember what day it was since we left the Deeproads that she had taken to calling me her 'love' when in truth I was far from it. I unsheathed my newly acquired sword that a bandit so willingly gave me. Flames ignited on the blade and those with weapons, one man, charged in to defend the others. The brave soul was met with a fiery sword piercing his heart. _

_I grew annoyed by the screaming and cries of the peasants. Without warning I set them all ablaze, walking over to my target as their screams of agony died off one by one. She tried to resist what I was doing to her, what Vanessa was doing to her, but I…_

* * *

"But you what?" Lyna asked him as he stopped the story suddenly. She had been captivated by the tale, it interested her greatly. It was far more better than her own petty conscription tale.

Shadow shook his head, "What do you think? She was possessed, that girl died because of my foolishness. I let emotions control me and I ended up slaughtering many women and children because of that dreaded wench." He growled, anger filling his voice for the first time since Lyna had met him. "I killed her eventually before I was arrested for being what I am. A monster - nothing but darkness. Before they could take me in for either my execution or slow rot in a prison, the Grey Wardens invoked the Rite of Conscription on me. Happy? You have my story. Let's move, daylight is burning."

Lyna nodded and quickly gathered her things, ready to walk in a minute's time. Her curiosity was satisfied, at least for now. She knew more about the Shadow that she followed. It made her feel accomplished, yet at the same time made her feel sad for the man. Perhaps she could talk to him more about it as they grow to know each other and help him. Only time would tell.

**Author's Note: Well pretties, after so long I finally got around to finishing and polishing up this beauty. What originally was supposed to be the Mage Origins, well... as you can see it turned out to be half of Shadow's instead. Been working hard lately, finally got around to this and am feeling rather accomplished. I think next time will be either the Mage or the City Elf Origins, so be prepared for that. However, don't hold your breath. I've no clue when it will be released, and if takes as long as this one did, you'd be long gone. I don't want that and I don't think you do either.**

**In other news, I plan on starting another Fanfiction I've had in the works for awhile now. Well, I've had two in the works for awhile now. I had a test series set in F.E.A.R., but now that I got my format and style down, I am thinking I will remake that. The new story (don't worry this one will be just as active as the other), will be either taking place in the F.E.A.R., or Lord of the Rings universes. If you're interested in either of those universes, keep watch. Who knows when they'll pop up! **

**Thank you for reading and making it this far. We've such a long journey ahead of us, and I don't know about you guys, but I'm excited to get to know our Exiles more. See ya in the next chapter!**


	4. Prologue - Mini-Chapter 1

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Mini-Chapter 1: They are far from dead_

_Time: Two weeks before Lyna's conscription._

"Mama, where are we going?" Hilda, a small human child with her long black hair put in ponytail asked her mother sweetly.

Her mother, Gilda, was a hunter and often brought her out on her hunting trips down south in the Wilds. They lived in the village of Lothering to the north with Hilda's father, Craig. The man couldn't walk on more than one leg after a wound he sustained in the war to free Fereldan from Orlesian occupation. This made his wife, daughter, and son take charge and help out by doing what he used to be able to.

Gilda smiled, looking at Hilda with loving eyes as they both carried quite a few unfortunate animals. "We're heading home, dear. Don't worry, we'll be on the road home soon enough." She said, reassuring her daughter that all was well.

'At least, we will **if** this fog doesn't get any worse.' She thought to herself quietly as she continued walking with her daughter. Six rabbits between the two of them were their bounty for hunting. That was a rather low amount of food, and it meant they'd have to try their luck somewhere closer to home.

They walked for hours, watching as the light provided by the sun began to fade. The sounds of the Wilds also started to die down as well. Something Gilda knew wasn't right. The many animals and insects of the Wilds didn't just go silent.

"M-Mommy! I'm scared…" Hilda said as tears started to run down her young face. She felt her mother pull her close to her side.

Gilda smiled, patting her daughter's shoulder. "N'aww, it's alright dear. Shouldn't be too far now."

They both froze in their steps as they heard loud hissing in front of them. "Hilda! Stay behind me!" She called out to her daughter who did just that. She quickly drew her bow and three arrows from her remaining twenty.

Her reaction time was impressive, because just as she readied her weapon three Hurlock grunts ran towards her and her daughter. She released the arrows with her bow tilted horizontally, each of her arrows cut through the air until they hit the tainted creatures in their heads. Her quick reaction killed them and their black blood pooled around their corpses rather than the other way around.

"Their taint will make this land sick…" Gilda said in disgust, adrenaline still pumping through her. Her body seemed to sense the threat that now surrounded them, hiding in the fog.

Hilda looked terrified as she looked upon the Darkspawn corpses. "M-Mommy are th-those…?"

Gilda nodded, "Yes. Those are indeed Darkspawn, my dear. Come on. We need to move - now!" She said, grabbing her daughter's hand as they ran into the dark wilderness, hoping to find safety.

* * *

They ran for fifteen minutes straight until Gilda felt something sharp hit her in the gut. The feeling sent her toppling over with a cry of agony. The little girl froze, shocked at what she just witnessed.

"Mama!" She cried out loudly, running to her mother's side.

The Darkspawn surrounded her, one of the Hurlocks rushing up to kill the poor child. She saw it coming and froze, however a black sword covered in flames blocked the attack. She slowly turned her head and saw a dark figure standing there briefly before it kicked the Hurlock back.

"Duncan! We've got a wounded woman and a girl, me and Savage will hold them back!" The man with a chilling, rough voice called out and soon a bearded man with a small ponytail walked up to tend to her wounded mother.

The clashing of blades, hissing, and roars of the battle mixed in the air. Duncan looked over and saw Hilda. 'So young...' He thought quietly before wrapping a bandage around Gilda's wound.

"Come on, young lady. I'm getting you and your mother out of here." He said, picking up the mother slowly and carefully, taking the little girl's hand before running away from the danger of battle.

Hilda looked back to her two other heroes, and saw them fighting a mass of Darkspawn. One with a flaming sword, the other with a massive maul. Through the fading sunlight, she saw the man of darkness hold his hand to the tip of his blade, the fire seemed to get sucked up and formed into a ball in his hand. She saw a large explosion of fire, and following that, she saw screaming Darkspawn run in different directions.

Savage, the towering brute of a man, collapsed to the ground. His gut was bleeding heavily, though he was surrounded by several Darkspawn corpses. All of which he claimed himself. Shadow walked over and knelt down beside him, placing a hand on the man's back.

"Savage? Are you okay?" Shadow asked, his voice filled with worry. The blonde haired man looked up, crying tears of pain.

He smiled weakly and shook his head, blood pouring from the left side of his mouth. He gulped the blood that was amassing in his mouth before speaking.

"I won't lie to you, Shadow. I-I have been fighting to die lately. I was preparing to head to the Deep Roads for my last fight." The man groaned before falling over onto his back. "I'd say I have done that, and then some, eh?" He asked with a pained chuckle.

Shadow simply chuckled sadly, "Yeah, my friend. That you did."

Savage reached up and grabbed his friend by the shoulders. "Go now, Shadow. Go with Duncan. Listen to him, he is a good man. You don't have time to tend to the dead, so please, go without an argument. If I see any of those stupid blighters, I'll take 'em with me." He ordered with a cough.

Shadow thought about it, but only for a second. The man was stubborn and he wouldn't win if he protested. So, he said goodbye for the last time before rushing away from the dying Savage. The dying man coughed up blood before beginning to speak.

" 'Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter. Blessed are the p-peacekeepers, the champions of the just. Blessed a-are the r-righteous, the lights in the sssshadow… I-In their blood, the M-Maker's will is written.' M-Maker h-have merc-" He said before laying his head back. His vision darkened as death took him. He was now on his way to meet his Maker.

* * *

Days later in Denerim, Shadow threw a head of a Hurlock at Loghain's foot, pointing at it. "Does that look like a fake Hurlock to you? By Andraste's tits man, look at it! It's vile and very much real and fresh!"

The black haired, weathered and rather sickly looking man scoffed before kicking the head away from him. "Do that again, Warden, and I'll see you executed. Now, don't come here spouting tall tales about Darkspawn. We've seen no sign of them after the last Blight, they're all dead!" Loghain protested, clearly getting annoyed.

Shadow growled, tempted to just lash out and kill the pompous son of a bitch. "No, Loghain. Look at that. They're **far** from dead. That head is only a few days old, and I believe in the Wardens. If they say there is a mass of Darkspawn in the south, I want to act to save my people from dying. Warden, your calls for help have been heard. I will send scouts to the south immediately to report. From there I'll coordinate with your Warden Commander, Duncan. Dismissed." King Cailan said, stopping the fight before it even began.

Shadow bowed his head, "Thank you, my King." With that, he turned around and began to walk towards the exit of the castle, leaving the decapitated head to sit there and rot.

He had more important things on his mind. Such as checking in on Hilda and Gilda in Lothering. When the King got reports of the Darkspawn, Shadow knew he and the other Wardens would be summoned to help destroy this Blight before it even starts. He groaned loudly, as a flashing image of the nightmare appeared. 'I hope Loghain gets snapped in half by an Ogre. The bastard will get us all killed.' He thought to himself as he continued walking.

**Author Notes; Here, have a snack. (Oh, and thank you all for making it this far. I appreciate you reading the story, I really do. See you next time for the City Elf Origin story!) **


	5. Prologue - Chapter 4

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Chapter 4: Child of Justice_

"Wake up Cousin, why are you still in bed? It's your big day!" Darrian Tabris heard his younger cousin Shianni say, pulling him from his peaceful slumber.

He groaned as he sat up, exhausted from all the work he had done the night before. Cleaning the house was one thing, but he had other errands to run. The twenty four year old elf barely had time to eat and drink dinner before he crashed hard onto his bed. As soon as he hit the soft mattress, he passed out.

He pushed a stray lock of his long and blonde hair behind his ear as he looked into his cousin's green eyes with his own blue ones. She truly was a beautiful woman with orange hair, and though it may have been wrong to say such a thing, if they were not cousins he would have taken her as his wife. Whether that was the tradition of the Alienage Elves or not. She deserved it after all she had been through all of her life. The humans of Denerim were barely tolerating the Elves and their presence in their 'great city.' In truth, Darrian thought the city he was raised in was everything but 'great.' But alas, it was home nonetheless.

"What…" He said, feeling a bit groggy, "... what are you doing in my room, again, Shianni?" He asked.

Indeed this wasn't her first time suddenly appearing in his room. Often they had cuddled, or just sat there and talked. She had a hard life, and often the Arl's son, Vaughan, had stopped by seemingly just to torture the Elvish women. He was the definition of disgusting. He was a man that violated women every single day, and he loved being even more sadistic to the Elvish women. He had never gotten his hands on Shianni, but they had a few brief encounters that always ended with Darrian scaring the little boy away, watching in anger as the pathetic human made his way back to his father.

Whilst he loved it when Shianni and himself talked, or cuddled, or did anything together, yesterday was an exception. She had broken into his room and stolen a coin purse. What she had done with it, he did not know, nor did he want to. It wasn't the loss of the currency that upset him, he would have given her much more than what was in that coin purse. It was just that she felt she had to sneak in order to get it, and that upset him. She should have known better.

"Oh please, don't tell me you've forgotten! It's your wedding, silly!" She said with a giggle, one that Darrian had come to enjoy hearing from her.

Each time he heard it, it was like a gift from above. She was a girl who did not laugh much, as she had no reason to. Hard lives often worked that way and whether Darrian liked it or not, he doubted he could ever change that. Then a thought occurred to him, did he want to be married? In all honesty he didn't think he did, or even thought he was ready for such a large step in life. Just a minute ago he had thought of how beautiful his **cousin** of all people was. How could that indicate he was ready to be wed? He hadn't even set up the arrangement, it was his father who did so. Of course, what his father said happened. It had always been that way, and it made Darrian feel like his opinion didn't matter. If it wasn't his father, it was the Hahren.

"Shianni… I rather not get married. I'd prefer it if you and I could just go do something together today." Darrian said with a sigh, slowly beginning to wake up.

She nodded, "I… would like that too, but Cyrion would be upset if we skipped the wedding. **Especially** if you did." She sighed, wanting nothing more than to spend the day with him.

That was the nature of their relationship. Yes, cousins, but also very close friends. An outsider looking in on their relationship could say that it was unnatural or disgusting, in the sense of their thoughts on one another as if they were more than just cousins. One could also decide that their relationship is healthy and good, as family should be close friends. Which ever one decided to choose, there was one thing that was for certain; Darrian would never let any harm come to her, or any residents of the Alienage for that matter. He and Shianni had been through a lot together, he would see to it that she was safe, even if he was killed as a cost for her safety.

He got up onto his feet and stretched briefly before placing his hands on her shoulders, "I'm willing to risk it. I've no desire to be married, not to mention she's a stranger to me. Unlike you and I who have known each other for as long as I can remember." He grumbled softly.

"We… can't." She sighed, placing a hand on his cheek. "You need to get ready… your bride is probably already here."

Darrian growled, briefly placing his forehead against hers before backing up. "Alright. I'll be out in a few minutes. But Shianni, I don't want this to make it so we can't do what we have been… we've always been there for each other."

She nodded, "Don't worry, it won't. I'll see you outside." She said quickly, too quickly for Darrian's liking, before she left him alone to get dressed.

He sighed and got up, putting on the rather expensive clothes his father had bought him for this event. They weren't expensive in the way most humans would think, but to Elves that lived in the Alienage, it was nearly an entire lifetime's worth of gold. It was made out of cloth, and it looked like something a human might wear to a casual, yet slightly formal dinner. Though that was one thing that had always gotten on the young man's nerves.

Humans had always lived in luxury while his kind suffered. Humans got all the good things, well paying jobs, respect, proper aid, deals for living arrangements, all of it. What did the Elves get? Quite the opposite, really. He had heard the Dalish would shoot someone like him on sight, a city elf, because he chose to turn his back on their Gods and nomadic ways. Despite not getting a choice in the matter, he did not live such a luxurious life that they no doubt thought of Elves that lived in the city had.

His mother had taught him how to fight when he was younger, and it was a good thing she had done so. Countless times had that human, the Arl's son, Vaughan, came down to pay them a visit. He and his friends always tried to pick a fight, or to abduct some of the Elvish women, which they had succeeded a couple of times in the past. However, whenever Darrian showed his face they ran away like the little rats they were.

With a sigh, not wanting to begin this day, he walked out of his room and towards the exit of the house, putting his hair in a braid running horizontally around the middle-back of his head, ending in a loose knot. He ran into his father, who was waiting for him. Cyrion looked very much like his son. Strong, wise, and bold. Though he was a bit more weathered and grey in the hair than the young elf.

"Morning, Father." Darrian said with a small smile despite not liking what was soon to happen. A fate that his father had brought unto him without his consent or with prior warning.

The greying man smiled and nodded at his son, "Good morning, my boy. Did you sleep well? You have a big day today, perhaps the biggest day of your life." He said in his calm, worn voice.

Darrian stretched and scratched the back of his neck before shrugging. How did he sleep? Well, aside from the rude awakening into the harsh reality of his situation, pretty damn good.

"Great. I'm a bit nervous about today, though. How did you sleep?" Darrian asked with a calm tone of voice, hoping to have hidden his frustration with his father.

"That's good, and perfectly normal, my son. It's a big step in your life, getting married. And I slept well, thank you. Well, I shouldn't keep you any longer. Your bride arrived earlier this morning, and not only that but Shianni says Soris ran away from her when she tried to talk to him about today. You should go find him." Cyrion said with a chuckle before his face got serious again. "Oh, and take these. Your mother wanted you to have them when you were of age. Also, try and keep your training to a down-low. We wouldn't want to scare your bride away." He said as he handed Darrian a pair of leather boots, adorned with patterns of vines.

"Thank you, father. And why not? She'll find out sooner or later." The young elf said as he put the boots on. They fit him surprisingly well, and at last he had something to carry with him that could remind him of his mother.

She hadn't left him much, and her death at the hands of men was sudden to say the least. She had been gone for so long that if it weren't for a painting of her above the fireplace, he would have forgotten what she had looked like. A beautiful tan elf with blonde hair much like his own, and brown eyes.

"Later. Definitely later. Now get going, my son. You have done enough procrastinating. Your mother would be so proud of the young man you have grown up to be." He said with a sad, yet happy smile.

Darrian nodded and did as he was told, walking out of the house. The fresh, cool morning air slammed into him like an angry bull. He could have sworn if he hadn't had proper footing he would have fell over. He straightened up and took a long, deep breath of the morning air. He was much more of a morning elf than his mother who seemed to like the night. He couldn't help but wonder how much of that was because of her trouble-making ways.

He listened to every little sound, elves conversing with each other about the big ceremony that was to happen today, the birds chirping, shouting, dogs barking, everything. This was the sound he had grown used to, and it always meant one thing: a peaceful morning. Whenever it had gotten quiet, that was when you knew something wasn't quite right. As when silence took over, so too did chaos. Usually. Humans didn't make their phrases tell lies, he was certain of that. 'The calm before the storm' was nearly always correct in Denerim.

He walked through the Alienage, passing the tree that was right in the center of it. He tried avoiding everyone the best he could as he didn't want to get distracted. Mainly because he knew if he did get distracted, well, for starters he wouldn't find Soris. Another reason being he would make sure he stayed distracted until at least the next day.

After a few more minutes, he stumbled across Soris who was rather close to the Alienage's exit. Darrian smiled, walking up to his cousin and crossing his arms, "Are you trying to sneak away and escape your inevitable doom too, cousin?" He asked.

Soris laughed and shook his head, "Yeah, don't we both wish it were that easy. You and I both know that we would get hunted down and brought back here to face more than just Cyrion and Shianni's wrath. We'd have our brides to deal with as well."

"Right. Soris, if I wanted any more nightmares about this I would have told you." Darrian said with a nervous chuckle.

The reddish-brown haired elf laughed, "Oh but that'd be too easy. Well, I was told our brides are here. We may as well meet them for the first time and spend a few hours with them. C'mon." Soris said with a sigh before taking the lead, Darrian reluctantly following behind him.

* * *

And so they had spent the next few hours with their brides to be. It was nerve-racking at first, but as time went on it became more and more relaxed. They finished eating and walked, eventually stopping rather close to the large tree in the center of the Alienage.

"Well, we'd better let them finish getting ready, Cousin." Soris said with a chuckle before doing a final conversation with his bride.

Darrian chuckled lightly before nodding at his soon-to-be, Nesiara. "Well, I had fun today." She said in her quiet, calm, and soft voice.

He smiled, "Yeah, I did too. And the fun is only just beginning." His words were delivered softly, but void of any clear emotion.

It was true, everything about this girl was beautiful. Her appearance, her personality, her voice… but it lacked something. He shook his head subtly and the thoughts with it. _No, Darrian. You are not going there more than four times in one day. It's not normal. It's sick._ He thought quietly to himself before getting pulled around from his thoughts by Soris.

"Alright, come on. Let her get read-" He said with a chuckle before he went dead serious. "Cousin…" He whispered. "Vaughan and his lot are here."

He heard the human and his crew walk up from behind him, their women in his sights. "Well it's a party, right? Grab a whore and let's have a good time." The man said, clearly thinking he was high and mighty.

"Enjoy the hunt boys, I fancy that pretty little elvish lass over there." Vaughan said with a chuckle, pointing directly at Shianni.

"Touch me and I'll gut you, you pig!" Shianni warned the man.

"Oh hoh, I see she has a fire to her… you'll be a fun one to tame." Vaughan said, the tone of his voice mixed with his promise made all of the elves sick.

Darrian had enough of the perverse man and turned around, both he and Soris approached the so called 'nobility' of Ferelden. This caught Vaughan's attention, and he laughed as he too approached the two elves. He had the look of most 'lords' of the land. Fine clothes, no doubt so expensive they probably could buy the Alienage. His presence was most sickening to Darrian, and he knew exactly why. The man was a rapist, the son of an Arl, but still a rapist. That wasn't even the worse part of it all. He was a sadistic man, inside or out of his perverted deeds. Being perverse and sadistic never mixed well.

"Ah! The two grooms have come to greet me personally." He said with a clap of his hands whilst Darrian saw Shianni retreat to grab something.

Darrian growled, "You think you are welcomed here? Get out of here."

The man laughed, about to say something, but before he could get a word out Shianni smashed his head with the bottle she had recovered from a nearby table. The pathetic man dropped like a sack of bricks, making Darrian laugh. It never ceased to amaze him how these so called strong, noble, and royal men were weaker than a child. A newborn baby, even.

"Do you have any idea what you just did? You assaulted the Arl's son! We'll be back, bitch." One of Vaughan's friends said before picking the unconscious man up.

With regret in her voice, Shianni put her hands up to her lips as if trying to shush herself. "O-Oh dear… What did I just do?"

As the man tried to walk away, he was immediately caught by Darrian who looked furious. "Would you call your mother a bitch? Do not answer that, human, for I know you would. If you come in here again and assault - let alone **insult** one of our women, you will not be pleased with the outcome." He warned with his voice thick with hatred.

Darrian then let the human go, he had given his warning and hoped that the man had received it. If he hadn't, there could possibly be bloodshed. He never liked humans and their 'high and mighty' ways, but he always gave an opponent with a conscience one warning before getting violent. Despite the fact he had given the humans of Denerim multiple warnings due to not wanting any troubles to befall the Alienage. Though his patience, anger, and justice-seeking nature could only survive so much, for so long.

Deep down, both he and Soris knew they would be back. Whether that same day or the next, a son of wealth and power would always seek blood. Even for the most petty of offense. Alas, he would do what he must. Justice would be served. It would be swift, and brutal, and without a care should it invoke the humans' wrath. Their own twisted view of 'justice.'

The young elf walked over to speak to Shianni before he was busy for the rest of the day. Doing married things. Maker, he was really getting married, wasn't he?

* * *

Hours of uneventful conversation was what followed the incident with Vaughan. The only thing of note was some Grey Warden named Duncan arriving, however since he was a friend of the Hahren, Darrian and Soris let him be. If this is what weddings were like, Darrian didn't see the sense in it. He was no doubt alone in the world when it came to thoughts like these. In fact, he began doubting the emotion that was 'love' altogether. What did it ever do for anyone? Love was something he knew he had for people, but on closer inspection he had to wonder what and why it was he _loved_ them. He watched over them. He protected them. He cared for them. However, he was not a foolish when it came to the fact he knew they were a weakness for him.

So there they were, gathered on the small wooden platform where they were to be married. A Mother of the Chantry, a beautiful one at that, was there and the Hahren began speaking the words prior to the ceremony. Just as the Mother had begun to wed them, Darrian and Soris immediately spotted Vaughan, along with his friends and nine of Denerim's guards walk around the corner. Darrian growled as he clenched his fists, his anger building, but before he knew it the bastard had one of the guards punch him in the face. Something he normally would have been able to take, but between the unexpected force of the punch and the metal gauntlet the guard wore, he was knocked out cold. The last thing he remembered was a bright light before darkness.

* * *

He awoke in the same place he was when he received the bloody nose. Several elves were gathered around him, hoping and praying that he was okay. He growled, rising to his feet. He watched as everyone backed away from him. They knew what he was like when he was enraged.

"Where are the women?" He asked in a growl, Soris replied shortly after with a nervous tone of voice.

"Uh, Vaughan has taken them up to his family's estate, to… uhm… yeah." The middle cousin out of three said, scratching the back of his neck.

Darrian nodded before marching to the Hahren who was discussing something with the Grey Warden. Soris reluctantly followed him. From what he knew, the Wardens were a noble bunch. Where they were, justice and all that is light followed. At least if they involved themselves into the affairs of the area they were in.

"Ah, I see you have awoken and are okay. I am pleased to see this good news, my boy." The Hahren said with a small smile.

Duncan nodded, "Indeed. I am sorry for what has happened here today."

The Warden Commander had caught Darrian's gaze. "Truly?" He asked, "If so, then you will give me weapons to get our women back."

Duncan chuckled, "Even if I were to do that, I do not see the guards letting an armed elf into the Arl's estate. Such a thing would obviously not mean well."

An elvish servant approached and in a small, submissive voice he spoke. "I… I could get you and maybe one other into the estate. There's a back way into it, the servant's entrance. I'm sure they would think nothing of two other servants going to work."

Darrian nodded, he liked the idea. It helped them maintain the element of surprise. Duncan stroked his beard, as if consulting it for it's opinion before nodding.

"Yes, indeed that would be a good plan. Here, you will need these." The Warden said with a smile, giving the two elves weapons. Darrian got a longsword, whilst Soris was given the bow. "A man should be able to properly defend his loved ones. Good luck." Duncan said before Soris and Darrian followed the servant. They had no time to waste.

They stopped at the exit to the Alienage, and Soris looked to Darrian. "Are you sure this is a good idea? We could get **killed**." He asked with a soft tone of voice.

Darrian nodded with his stance looking strong like a warrior's, "A true man does not stand by whilst his women are raped and beaten. Not to mention our **Shianni** is in there, Soris. Come with me, or give me your bow and stay."

The brown haired elf sighed, "Alright. I don't like it, but I will watch your back in there."

Darrian smiled, "Good man. No one likes to possibly go into their deaths, but sometimes it is necessary. Alright, friend. Lead the way. Soris, you watch our backs." He said like a leader of men.

Duncan watched on with the Hahren. _And so my potential recruits march on…_ He thought quietly to himself, crossing his arms as the three elves departed from the Alienage on a most righteous quest.

* * *

The three elves reached the Arl's estate after a fairly long walk with Darrian and Soris arguing about what they were about to do. Darrian wanted to end the lives of the humans that harmed their women. Soris, on the other hand, wanted to just secure the women and get out with as little bloodshed as possible. As always, though, the eldest of the two would get their wish. The walls of the Arl's estate would be painted red with human blood, and anything else foolish enough to get in Darrian's way.

As they entered through the small gate, they were immediately charged by a mabari war hound. Unfortunately, it was no match for Darrian's quick reaction time and knowledge of how to kill. His blade stabbed through the dog's head, killing it nearly in an instant, before he ripped it out and looked around. Thankfully no one had heard the growling.

"We're lucky that dog didn't alert others. Or else we'd be in a world of pain." Soris said with a disappointed tone.

Darrian shook his head, "Shut up, Soris. We're here to get the women, kill those humans, and get out. We've no time to do your little game of "or elses." Understood?" The long haired elf said before marching down the left path of the estate.

Before he turned to the right with the walkway, a guard marched around the corner accompanied by a mabari. "Oi! You lot, what are you doing here? The estate is off-" The man said loudly before spotting the weapons Darrian and Soris were carrying.

He blocked Darrian's leaping attack with his sword, sending the elf stumbling back. Soris, however, shot the mabari that was accompanying him with the bow Duncan had provided him with. Luckily the shot was in the head, effectively killing the dog bred for war. Soris looked around, there wasn't much he could do to help his cousin out in fighting the guard. That alone made him sad as he saw Darrian losing the fight against the skilled guard.

However, Darrian didn't need his help. It was all a part of his battle strategy. The man had a good defense, but if there was one thing he knew about humans, it was that they got careless if they seemed to be getting the upper hand. As Darrian continued stepping back, seemingly getting beaten by the man's powerful blows, the guard decided to daze him with a bash of his shield. Just as he was about to run Darrian through with his blade, the blonde elf took the opportunity and chopped his head off. The fool had lowered his shield just low enough for such an attack to work.

With his arms and chest covered in the blood that spurted from the dead guard's neck, he stepped over the corpse and looked down the rest of the path. Seeing it was clear, he motioned for Soris and the elf servant to continue on with him. If that was the best the humans could throw at them, this would be easy. Darrian knew better. Anything he could bring to the table, the humans could bring that and plenty more. _Never underestimate your opponent, but never overestimate them either_. He thought quietly to himself. He did neither of these things, he knew the fact that they could kill him and his cousin easily. They had manpower and discipline on their side. They had leaders, strategy on their side. Darrian, well he just improvised if a battle was not going his way.

They made their way through a small pumpkin patch, only encountering two more mabari and one more guard. They dispatched them quickly, Darrian managing to get more human blood on himself. At least they were doing something useful for once, fertilizing the ground with their blood. Whether that'd nurture nature however was debatable. Their blood was filled with corruption.

They made it to the side entrance, that led to a small room and then the kitchen. "This is as far as I can take you. I wish you luck. Make them pay and get our women back." The elvish servant said before quickly taking off back down the same path they had came from.

"Well, cousin, you ready for this?" Soris asked Darrian.

The eldest simply grinned wickedly, taking a dagger he had recovered from one of the guards he had slaughtered, tossing it in the air playfully. He caught it by the blade and winked at Soris, "When am I not ready?" He asked before kicking open the door.

This alerted the guard that was asleep on his post, unfortunately for him, Darrian tossed the dagger and it planted itself deep within the man's forehead. "That was… ruthless, cousin." Soris commented as the clang of the armored man's corpse falling to the floor was heard.

"So was taking our wives and Shianni." Darrian growled before marching to the next door, giving it the same treatment and kicking it open.

An elf and human chef spun around, the human man marching right up to Darrian. "Who do you think you are, barging in here like that, elf?!" The elderly man demanded to know.

Darrian growled coldly, "Do not think you are better than me, human scum." He said before running the innocent man through with his sword. He had no time for humans.

He twisted the blade, hearing the quiet squeal of agony the chef let out. It was like music to Darrian's ears. He ripped the blade out of the man's gut, letting him fall to the ground to die in his own pool of blood.

"Cousin! Did you have to do that?!" Soris exclaimed, shocked and disgusted by Darrian's actions.

"Yes. He was a human, and he got in my way. I will no longer bow to humans. Now, go home or let's get moving." Darrian growled before he watched the elf servant slowly walk out.

"You've no idea how long that shem has had that coming. Good luck in there, Vaughan has taken your women to his back room." The servant said before getting out of the estate.

Darrian sighed, so it was true. They had little time to waste, then. He opened the next door calmly, seeing that it led to a dining hall where five off-duty guards were eating their dinner. With a rage that rivaled the Dwarvish berserkers, Darrian closed in on them with a fire and lust for human blood in his eyes. Soris simply watched his cousin slaughter the surprised men one by one. The sight made him sad, as he knew his cousin was falling into darkness.

Once Darrian was finished with them, they made their way through the halls of the Arl's estate. They really only encountered small patrols, ranging from one man to four. They entered the room just before Vaughan's, which was filled with five men crowding around a dead corpse. One of them killed an elvish girl, she looked familiar but Darrian couldn't place her.

"Great, we should have kept that wench alive. Now look at her? A waste of a good fuck." One of the guards said with a sigh.

"How picky are you? Her body is still warm enough, get it before it's cold!" Another said.

"Nola!" Soris said loudly, catching the attention of all of the guards.

"Ah lookie here, boys! More elves to slaughter!" Their leader said before they all drew their weapons and rushed towards the two young elves.

Darrian and Soris were dripping in blood of their vanquished foes. These lot did not stand a chance. Soris had gotten used to loading and firing his bow. So used to it, that he could just fire in rapid succession whilst Darrian took on the leader. This was good organization as the four were nothing compared to their leader, who Darrian knew had seen countless of battles.

Darrian slid his blade around the human's, successfully cutting off the hands of the man. This caused him to scream in agony as he backed up against the door that led into Vaughan's quarters.

"P-Please don't kill me!" The man begged.

Darrian shook his head, "I bet she said the same thing. I will now give you the same treatment you gave her. Death." He growled before driving his sword through the man's throat, kicking him off of his blade immediately after.

Doing that send the door flying open and the man falling inside, gurgling on his own warm blood. Darrian and Soris stepped in, and immediately they saw Vaughan and his friends around Shianni who looked sick, wounded, and defiled. She was on the ground, holding her gut.

"Well, look who decided to show up." Vaughan said, turning from Shianni and approaching Darrian.

"We'll get 'em Vaughan." One of his friends said before the Arl's son shushed the pampered noble.

"Quiet, fool. They're covered in enough blood to fill a tub. Look, friend, you know what killing me will do. It will bring unimaginable suffering upon your people. However, we can be civilized and come to an agreement, I hope. Me and my friends just want fun, how about I pay you forty gold for your troubles and send you on your way?" He asked, causing Darrian to growl.

"No." Darrian said before he suddenly swung his sword, cutting Vaughan's head free from his shoulders.

"Vaughan!" One of the other humans said, rushing at Darrian with his blade.

They were all pathetic. Merely political creatures. Their mastery of weapons was less than pathetic, ultimately earning them their swift deaths given by Soris and Darrian. After all they had been through, they learned that these would-be men were nothing more than children. Cut down like wheat to a scythe.

"Soris, you go look for the others. I'll attend to Shianni." Darrian ordered, and his cousin did as he was told.

The eldest of all of the elves in the estate walked up to his cousin who was whimpering. He crouched behind her, slowly taking her in his arms. Something many would not want as he was covered in blood, but she didn't seem to care. She turned so she could bury her face in his chest as she wept.

"T-They…" She whimpered, muffled by his clothed chest.

"Shh, it's alright… I'm here now. Every single one of those humans who harmed you are dead." Darrian said, trying to comfort her.

"Good… good…" She said sadly, though he could hear the relief in her voice.

He did not need to ask her what they had done to her, the evidence was all around him. He growled lowly, keeping her in his arms, watching as Soris and the two brides approached him and Shianni. He felt his youngest cousin pull on his shirt's sleeve and looked down to meet her gaze.

"Home… T-Take me home… I want to go home…" She wept before burying her face in his chest again.

Darrian nodded slowly and picked her up as he got to his feet. "Thank you for saving us." Nesiara said softly.

In the short time they had gotten to know each other before the wedding, Darrian found he actually liked his wife-to-be. She was a quiet, calm, sweet and intelligent elf. Darrian smiled lightly as he nodded.

"You should thank Soris, he was the hero behind the plan. Told fearful old me to keep going, that we couldn't let our women be abused by men without having the men punished." Darrian said, winking at Soris before taking the lead.

"Err… right. Well I'll watch our backs." Soris said, having the girls walk in between Darrian and himself. He wondered why his cousin made himself sound like a coward, when really it was the other way around.

* * *

The walk back to the Alienage was a quiet one, and eventually Shianni got up onto her own two feet so she could walk to Darrian and Cyrion's house. The two cousins were stopped by Duncan and the Hahren. Both had a serious look on their faces. Both Soris and Darrian handed Duncan his weapons, Darrian more reluctantly than Soris.

"How fared your quest?" Duncan asked, amused by their success as he reclaimed his weapons.

Darrian nodded and sighed, "The Arl's son is dead, along with multiple guards. Unfortunately… Nola did not survive. The savages cut her down and when we arrived were about to… I'll spare you the details." The young elvish man said, his voice displaying his disgust.

"I… see. I will inform Tormey of the death of his daughter. However, killing the Arl's son is a very-" The Hahren began to say before the guard Captain and nine other guards marched into the Alienage.

"Alright, I will not coat this with sugar. Which one of you filth killed the Arl's son and countless men of the Denerim guard?" The man with a red goatee demanded to know, staring directly at the elf whom he recognized. "Was it the Alienage's local troublemaker, Hahren?" He asked.

"As a matter of fact, shemlen, it was me. I alone killed that swine, and every single filthy… **fat**, want-to-be soldier that defended him." Darrian growled, and as he approached the guard Captain all the guards but the Captain himself drew their swords.

The man laughed, "You expect me to believe a lone elf killed all of those men, **and** the Arl's son?" He asked.

"Not all of us are so defenseless as we seem." The Hahren replied.

"Regardless, that was too quick for any one person to achieve." The Captain said with a sigh and roll of his eyes.

"Emma shem'nan. Ma emma harel." Darrian growled.

"Speak Common you foolish little boy." The man sighed in response before shaking his head. "Never mind, it matters not. You say you did it, then you will hang."

Duncan then stepped up and put his hand on Darrian's shoulder. "If I may, Captain, it is my right as the Warden Commander of Ferelden to conscript those I see fit to become Grey Wardens. More of us are needed if we are to stop the Darkspawn horde rising in the south."

The Captain groaned before nodding. "Very well, Warden. Just make sure he leaves my city by nightfall."

"It will be done." Duncan said, bowing his head as the guards sheathed their weapons and walked out of the Alienage.

Darrian turned to face Duncan, whom nodded at him calmly. "You'd best go say your goodbyes. We leave for Highever immediately." He told the young elf.

"As you say." Darrian said before walking away from them, getting stopped by Soris who remained at his side.

"Don't think I didn't notice what you did. You are a hero, cousin, and I thank you. Please, whenever you can, come visit Valora and I." He said with a small smile, though in truth he was sad his eldest cousin was leaving. Darrian was a mentor to Soris.

Darrian grinned, "Of course, cousin. I'll keep in touch. Watch for the raven that will arrive at my doorstep on the first and last days of each month." He said before walking to the small building that had been his home all of his life.

Everyone seemed quiet, the entire Alienage felt as if it had vanished. Though this wasn't the case as he could see several elves moving about. Occasionally, one would stop and either call him a fool, or a hero, which he knew he was neither. He slowly approached his house, where he saw his father standing and waiting for him.

The aging man sighed, "If this is what the Maker has planned for you, my dear boy, then so be it. Know that your mother and I will always be there for you. And know that you have made both of us proud." He said softly, walking up to his son and hugging him.

"I don't want to go, father…" Darrian said, hugging him back. For an elf like Darrian, tears were rare. Yet he felt them pressing against his eyes, threatening to spill over and down his face.

"Of that I have no doubt, but there is nothing anyone can do about that. You may return one day, or you may not. I do not know. Though there is one thing I know, the Grey Wardens are heroes, my son. They protect us all, and they have conscripted you into their ranks. You should feel as honored as I do, if not more. I am able to call my son a Grey Warden. _A hero_. You know, they tried to recruit your mother once, but she declined their offer. She wanted to raise you with me." He said, his voice growing shaky. "Now, go say farewell to Nesiara and Shianni. They await you inside. Go, before it gets any harder on either of us." He said.

As Darrian pulled away and went to open the door, Cyrion stopped him again. "Oh, and my son. Take this, it's an amulet of your mother's." He said, handing Darrian a necklace held together by a silver chain. A bright green emerald was encased in the center of a decorated silver pendant.

"Thank you, father." Darrian said, swallowing hard before entering the house where he found Valora standing there. Waiting for him, or so he assumed

"Hello Darrian! Nesiara, your betrothed is here!" She called back to where his room was.

"I'll be just a minute!" The soft voice of Nesiara called back.

Valora turned back to Darrian and smiled, "You should visit us whenever you can. Nesiara and I are thinking about opening up our own shop. If you ever find yourself in Denerim, come and visit us! And thank you… for me, for Soris, for **everything**. I'll never be able to repay you." She said happily as Nesiara approached. "Well, I'll leave you two alone." She finished with a smile before walking out of the house.

"Thank you, Valora." Nesiara said, turning to Darrian. "Well, what happens now? Your father says you are to become a Grey Warden… you're leaving, aren't you?" She asked sadly, the look on her face was worse than a sword to Darrian's heart.

He nodded, "Nesiara… I'm sorry. But I'll come back for you, I promise." He said softly, approaching her and taking her hands in his own.

"No, you won't." She groaned, pulling her hands away from his own with a sigh. "Grey Wardens can't have wives or families. I guess we'll never know what might have been. Your… friend is waiting for you." She sighed before walking to meet up with Valora. "Be safe out there."

He turned the corner and entered his room where Shianni was standing in a fresh change of clothes. She was smiling as he approached. He was her hero, no, her living spirit of justice. Her guardian. Her Darrian.

"You took all of the responsibility for what happened. You're amazing, you know that?" She asked with an adoring smile on her face.

"How are you holding up?" He asked her softly.

She smiled, "I'm okay, thanks to you. I've just been putting on a tough face so people don't coddle me like I'm a child. As far as they know, I just got knocked around a bit." Shianni informed him before sighing sadly. "I'll miss you cousin… you know that, right? It'll be lonely around here without you."

"I'll miss you too, Shianni. As I told Soris, I will send word every first and last day of each month if I can. If I find myself in Denerim, you know I'll stop by and say hello." He said softly before pulling her into an embrace.

"I love you… please be safe out there. Okay?" She said softly into his neck.

He groaned before nodding, "I love you too. As for being safe, well…" He said, pulling away from her and giving her a grin accompanied by a wink. "You know me. Stay safe as well Shianni."

With that said, he hugged her one last time before pulling away and walking outside. He sighed heavily, looking around at the Alienage that was his home before walking towards the exit where Duncan was waiting for him. He had saved Shianni and the women, though criticized himself for not being fast enough to save Nola. He killed that bastard son of the Arl so he could no longer harm the women of the city, and in return got sentenced to death. However, this was stopped by Duncan, The Warden Commander, by invoking the Rite of Conscription upon Darrian, taking him under his wing as a Grey Warden.

Now they were to set off to Highever, where they would observe Ser Gilmore, though Duncan told him that he was really there to observe not just him, but the two children of Teyrn Cousland. Aedan and Elissa. Whilst he did not like leaving all he had known behind, Darrian knew it was to serve justice to all of the unjust. The Grey Wardens kept the tainted Darkspawn at bay, and where they walked, the Corruption that was present always seemed to be vanquished. He just hoped Soris, Nesiara, Valora, and most definitely Shianni would be safe without him. Along with everyone else in the Alienage. However, there was little he could do. His destiny lied with Duncan and the Grey Wardens. A destiny of war and blood, and most important to him. _Justice_.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey pretties, sorry this chapter took longer than the others. I have been busy as of late. Do not worry, I will try and post more frequently, but if I can't, I shall inform you of my plans. I hope you all like Darrian, as he is probably one of my most... not young, but mold-able characters I have made so far. Next chapter shall be the Mages, Daylen and Neria. **

**In other news, I hope you guys had a great month! See you in the next chapter! -Saren**


	6. Prologue - Mini-Chapter 2

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Mini-Chapter 2: The start of it all_

_Time: One week before Lyna's Conscription, the first battle at Ostagar_

"_The three battles we had before Duncan, myself, and a few other Grey Wardens set out to find recruits… Well… the Creators were not on our side. Whilst they are elvish gods, I have trusted in them all my life and they had not failed me. During those battles, however, it seemed that no matter what god the men believed in, they were denied their blessings. Their gods' presences were absent from them. Ask any man that fought in the battles that the King says 'went well,' how well they truly went and they shall tell you that it was a blood bath and they had lost many good brothers to the hands of those most foul creatures." Shadow said as he and Lyna walked along the Imperial Highway. The sun beginning to set, the air turning cold as night rapidly approached. "The most violent and bloodiest of the three was the first. The soldiers of the King had never tested their steel against the Darkspawn. As a result of this, many were slain or poisoned by their black blood. If you are not a Grey Warden, so much as getting a drop of their blood on you can prove to be dangerous."_

* * *

Harold, the only name most people knew him by, walked into the tent he and his scouting group were assigned. He was a young man, no more than seventeen years of age, with heavy, yet patchy stubble. He hadn't been shaving because he believed a true soldier should look like a man, not a boy. He found his friend Jerrick who was cleaning his blade while sitting on a cot. Everyone else out of their eight man group was either at the meeting with their superiors or training outside of the tent. They had just arrived, and knew that the King would want scouts sent out into the Korcari Wilds, a place Harold did **not** want to go into. Witches, beasts, and Maker knew what else lied within that damned swamp.

"Hey Harold." Jerrick called out to him, not looking up from his sword, or at least that was what Harold had thought. "Got that look about you, nervous for your first time out in the field?"

The young man nodded, "Yeah. I signed on to fight for the King, not to fight against the Darkspawn that I could have sworn were killed off in the last Blight." He groaned before sitting on his own small cot.

The man chuckled before sighing, "Well, man, you fight for the King. And the King is fighting the Darkspawn. Thus, you're doing both. Don't worry, we'll all come out of this as heroes. Imagine the tales about Harold Thyserian the Darkspawn Slayer with his trustworthy comrade Jerrick Cadahn. Fighting in the ruins of Ostagar, against all odds along with the Grey Wardens and their King Cailan." He said before laughing.

Harold joined in on the laugh, whilst he doubted there'd be any tales about him, his friend's words did have truth to them. Fighting Darkspawn that are growing in numbers to overrun the King's army in a rundown ruin that had seen countless of battles in its life? It was like a tale you would only hear of in legends. But really, what hope did men like himself and Jerrick have of surviving encounters with the Darkspawn? Sure, they had Grey Wardens, but they were the **Darkspawn**. Creatures born due to the mages of Tevinter getting greedy and stepping into the Golden City of the Maker, tainting it with their sin.

The young man slowly laid down on his cot, closing his eyes to rest until the leader of the group got back with their mission. He had trained hard this morning, and he figured rest would do him good before what ever mission the King decides to throw at them came in.

* * *

Harold slowly woke up to the sounds of an argument going on. He recognized the voices of his leader, Gerald and of course his friend, Jerrick. He pretended to be asleep so he could listen in.

"Do not underestimate the Darkspawn, Gerald. That's not an intelligent choice of action." Jerrick warned loudly as he crossed his arms, staring his leader in the eyes.

The man with the worn face laughed, "And I suppose you fought Darkspawn before? Three men, and two women. One a girl, and the other a huntress. Both were peasants from Lothering. You're telling me that **we** should fear these creatures? When they can't kill at most, four able fighters? Let me remind you they were in the middle of this _horde_."

"And those three men were some of Ferelden's most experienced Wardens. One was the Warden Commander himself! The two Lothering 'peasants' survived because of the sacrifice of one Warden, and even then the huntress almost got killed. Show respect for the people we are fighting with, and fighting for." Jerrick growled, and Harold could hear the frustration rising in his voice.

"Watch your tongue, soldier, or I'll have you flogged for insubordination." The Captain growled.

Harold then got out of bed, walking to Jerrick's side, managing to surprise them both as they had thought he was in a deep slumber. "Ser, with all due respect, you can't charge him for insubordination. He isn't denying to follow your order, he is merely suggesting for you to take our opponents seriously."

Gerald sighed, stroking his long red beard before nodding. "You're right, Harold. I'm sorry, Jerrick. I've just had one Void-spawned morning. Got scolded by Loghain because I didn't have us scouting out the Korcari Wilds. It seems the fool doesn't understand I can't act without King Cailan's direct order."

"Why are we scouting the Wilds anyway? Haven't the Wardens done enough of that themselves?" Harold asked, crossing his arms.

Jerrick decided to speak for the Captain, "Aye, they have. But, from what I've heard our little 'Hero of Ferelden' decided we can't place our trust in the Wardens. So, he is sending men out like crazy to figure out what the Darkspawn are doing. Often times he disregards any intelligence the Wardens bring to him and the King. Whilst the King trusts the Grey Wardens, he still takes the Teyrn's suggestions. Waste of men, if you ask me. Good men are dying for nothing out there, and reports indicate that the Darkspawn are preparing for an attack. They're trying to push forward"

"Hah, was that ever in doubt? They are coming from the south, the only thing standing between them and the rest of Ferelden is our armies stationed in this ruin." Harold said with a fake enthusiastic voice.

Gerald shook his head, chuckling lightly. "At least we got warned before the Darkspawn horde turned into a Blight. If we can kill those stupid blighters here and now, we need not worry about a Blight. If, however, we fail… I am afraid of what may happen."

"Blights are only formed if they're led by an Archdemon, right? That's what I was told by some Knight." Jerrick asked the Captain.

"That may be, but I can't help thinking that those Wardens are keeping something from us. If there **was** an Archdemon, they would be the only ones to know until it was too late. And that is information I doubt they'd tell us lowly soldiers. Bad for morale and all that shite." The Captain replied. "Come, let us get the rest of our group together so we can head out into the Wilds and get this over with."

* * *

Several hours had passed by, and day turned to night when the army was summoned to the small valley that ran straight through Ostagar. However, Harold and Jerrick were walking around the King's camp when they heard a woman cry out in desperation from behind a few bushes located in a dark corner of the ruins.

"Help me!" She cried out loudly, before another voice was heard by Harold.

"Shut up, wench, no one is going to save you and I need to get this out of my system before the battle!" A man's voice growled.

He was one of Loghain's soldiers, and obviously he had grown foolish due to the fact every able bodied man was sent to the battlefield at the request of their leaders, save, of course, for a few guards protecting the servants and others who were not fighters. A most foolish move on his part, as he did not expect the likelihood of two well trained scouts of the King to be in the camp before the battle. Not hearing the men approach, he kept his advances on the woman, ripping her lower clothing from her body and exposing her sex.

He lowered his own trousers, about to complete his raping of the young elvish girl, but was cut short when he heard the rasp of blades being drawn from their scabbards. He slowly turned around, still pinning the girl to the ground, and successfully identified the two men who were now pointing their weapons at him. In reaction to this, he spun around, holding the partially naked elf in front of himself so he could not be harmed. At least that was what he thought.

Harold slowly approached him, half-swording his blade as he pointed it's tip directly at the soldier's face, avoiding the elvish girl entirely. "Release her, or experience the feeling of steel through your skull, swine." He growled as he narrowed his eyes at the man, knowing that the girl was completely safe should he try anything. The blunt side of his sword was facing her so the soldier could not use Harold's blade against him.

"Promise not to tell the Teyrn or King." The man demanded, holding his arm around the elf's neck tightly, choking her.

Harold nodded, "I swear I won't tell anyone. You have my word."

"And your friend?"

"I swear as well." Jerrick said with a sigh, not lowering his own blade in case the man tried something.

He believed them, after all, they were his fellow soldiers and wouldn't get him in trouble. He removed his grip on the elf, who ran into Harold and wrapped her arms around him. At the same time, Jerrick moved in on the soldier and without warning swung his sword, cutting the man's arms off by the elbows. He screamed in agony, but Jerrick wasn't done.

Harold decided to leave Jerrick to do what he wished and escorted the elvish woman out of view from the horrible execution that was about to happen. "Where is your tent, mi'lady?" He asked the girl.

"O-Over by t-the river." She replied, her voice shaky and strained as she pulled her top down as much as she could to cover her privates.

Harold sighed, sheathing his sword to his side again before gently pulling the girl close to him. "I won't let anything happen to you, mi'lady. Does your family also occupy that tent, or is it just for servants?" He asked.

"I-It's for the servants, but my family fills it completely, so... "

"I understand. I am deeply sorry that this has happened to you. He is a disgrace to our army." Harold sighed as he saw the river in the distance, moonlight reflecting off of its waters like a beacon.

It wasn't long before they heard the sounds of battle erupt after a horn was blown by the King's army. His group, along with several others, reported that the Darkspawn were en route to the valley, and that is why the King ordered all men to be stationed in there. However, something wasn't right. The air itself felt as if it was going to freeze. Demonic sounding whispers followed this feeling, and he drew his sword and dagger.

"Get behind me!" He ordered the girl as he looked around, and sure enough he spotted something he did not want to see.

A Hurlock with horned armor. From what Harold's research told him, it was a Hurlock Alpha. The creature slowly approached and let out a hissing laugh as it taunted him. Soon it was joined by four other Hurlocks. The elf girl let out a sound of fear before Harold charged their attackers.

"Stay close!" He ordered her before attempting to slash the Alpha with his blade.

Harold did not see the shield the Darkspawn was wielding, he had acted too hastily and so he was forced back with an aching arm. He pressed on, however, and as the Alpha went to bash him with his shield again, Harold deflected the blow off to the side with his sword. In a swift maneuver, he bashed the Hurlock back with his elbow which left the creature wide open for an attack. He took this opportunity and thrust his blade forward, managing to pierce the throat of the Darkspawn.

Another one of the tainted creatures rushed at Harold, though the man was very lucky as his dagger managed to knock the advancing Darkspawn back a foot due to a well timed block. He ripped his sword from the throat of the Alpha and began relentlessly bashing his blades against the new Hurlock's tainted weapon. One of the creature's comrades tried to get the advantage against Harold, though the young man saw this as an opportunity. He quickly grabbed onto the Darkspawn he was bashing, and threw him into the swing of his friend. Once the blade of his new, tricky opponent got lodged into his old enemy's shoulder, he decapitated both of them, watching their heads roll off from their shoulders.

The remaining Darkspawn tried to flee, either to get reinforcements or to just get to safety. However, as one Hurlock turned around it was greeted by Jerrick's sword getting thrust through his face. The other ended up with a crossbow bolt in its head, one of the guards had spotted the battle taking place.

"You having fun, Harold?" Jerrick growled before removing his blade from the face of the Darkspawn and in one sweeping motion, removed the head of the Hurlock before its body had time to reach the ground.

Harold chuckled, breathing heavily. "Sure am, you?"

"Eh, I'm rather disappointed. I thought they'd get you worried, not get themselves slaughtered."

"They're stragglers from the bulk of their forces in the valley, no doubt. Jerrick, creatures that don't follow their leaders are often the weakest. Do you know our orders?"

Jerrick spat on the corpse of his vanquished enemy, "Aye. Get that lass back to her tent and warn the guards of the camp to be on the look out for more of those blighters. Then we attend the battle goin' on down in the valley."

"Oh I think they're well aware of the Darkspawn, after all, one of them killed the Hurlock you missed."

"Ah, yes."

"What of Loghain's man back there?"

"No hands, no tongue, and no bits to attempt rape. He's either bled to death or is currently on his way there."

Harold nodded, "Good. He gives us a bad name. Come on mi'lady. I'll get you to your tent."

"M-My name is Kallian, you know." The elf responded hesitantly before following her savior, who sheathed his sword that was covered in black blood.

"Jerrick, head to the valley. I'll get her home and make my way back to you, if we are to get into trouble, I rather take the blame than have you take it with me." Harold said, his voice rough and breathy.

The man sighed in response, "Alright. See you in the battle."

* * *

And so Harold walked the young elvish lass to her tent, but before she entered it, she used the cover of the night to give her savior a hug. The young man didn't know how to respond, and so she could feel him tense up before he slowly wrapped his own arms around her. Thankfully, he was only wearing leather armor, or doing so would prove to be pointless. Plate wasn't the right kind of equipment to hug people with, not to mention you wouldn't feel their own embrace.

"P-Please be safe… come and see me after the battle." Kallian said softly, placing her forehead against his chest.

Harold sighed, "You have to understand, Kallian, I don't know if I'll even be allowed to see you again. Not to mention we don't really know each other."

"I understand that… but even so, I… I want you to have these." She said before pulling a small pendant from her chest, grabbing his hand and placing it in his palm.

He looked at the beautiful, black, yet shining raven pendant before turning his gaze to Kallian who was looking at him with her bright blue eyes. "I… Thank you, Kallian." He said softly with a small grin on his face.

"That isn't all…" She said, one of her hands finding a place on his cheek that turned red as it burned in a blush.

"Kal-" He began to say before she leaned up and placed her lips against his.

Never in his entire life had he experienced what he was right now. Her lips were soft, warm, and inviting. It was as if she ensnared him just by this simple action, but his mind couldn't come up with any form of reason as to why she was doing this. A kiss was something people that were close did, right? They had just met, not to mention she had almost been raped, then killed by Darkspawn. And yet she was doing… **that**. With **him**. The kiss finally ended after what felt like an eternity of confusion.

"I… I'll see if I can return to you after the battle, Kallian. Maybe we can get to know each other after that." Harold said, swallowing hard as he backed away from the woman.

She smiled weakly and nodded, "Not _maybe_, and I look forward to it, Harold Thyserian."

The young man felt himself freeze as she spoke his name. It was as if she spoke inside his mind. As if their eye contact gave her a bridge into his mind and possibly his soul. He shivered, and went pale, the burning blood in his cheeks vanished as the cold fear and confusion set in. Her voice was a whisper when she spoke his name, and her expression turned from weak and innocent into one of scheming.

He then turned around and rushed towards the ruins. He had to get to his group and assist in the battle that was happening in the valley and had no time to ponder about the woman any longer. Originally, he was afraid of facing the Darkspawn horde in that valley, but after that kiss, he felt nearly invincible. Though that pit in his stomach never filled, despite him trying to forget those thoughts, the fear of the unknown in that woman was still evident. Who was she? How did she know his name?

* * *

Harold arrived to the King's camp in the ruins of Ostagar, and on his way to the tower stairs, he caught a glimpse of the battle. Lights from torches and magic were flying everywhere. It was massive, and he couldn't make out how many figures there were. He descended the stairs to the valley, and as he opened the large wooden door he was greeted by the massive battle taking place in more detail than before. It was loud, and violent.

Everywhere he looked he saw limbs getting chopped off, swords and axes cleaving and stabbing through bodies. The sounds, roars, hisses, cries, growls, orders, it was all overwhelming at first. Though after a few seconds he gathered his mind. Remarkably, he saw Jerrick fighting side by side with Gerald in the thick of the fighting, and assumed that was where his entire squad was. He rushed into the battle, taking cheap swings at unsuspecting Darkspawn as he made his way over to his friends. His brothers.

A loud, bestial roar was heard and the bodies of men and Darkspawn alike rained down from the sky, multiple bones in their bodies broken before they even hit the ground. The ground shook, and Harold knew what was going on.

"Nice of you to join us!" The Captain said before dealing death to a Genlock.

Harold chuckled, "Yeah… of course I appear when the Ogres come to play! What's the casualty count for our group?!"

"We... are the only survivors! The others got killed in the first engagement!" The Captain replied with sadness in his normally emotionless voice.

"Damn those Darkspawn! I feel horrible now!"

"Don't, Harold! It could be worse, you could be sitting at home being lazy rather than being a warrior and fighting to avenge our fallen brothers!" Jerrick called out before pushing a Darkspawn towards Harold in a playful manner.

The Hurlock turned to look at Harold, confusion in its eyes before the seventeen year old gutted it with his blades. Now was as good of a time as any to change the topic, "I want to know how we are supposed to not get **any** of their blood on us in a battle this bloody!" He called out to his group.

"Oh, that's just superstition! As long as it doesn't get **in** you, you are fine!" Jerrick replied with a chuckle before bashing a Shriek with his shield.

Harold watched as the Captain got surrounded by Darkspawn, and he knew he had to act fast to help him. Unfortunately, he too was being attacked by multiple adversaries, so he had to hope the Captain could keep up fighting strong. As he thought about it, the entire human army seemed outnumbered, but for some reason he couldn't help but feel as if they were winning this battle. And he was right, whilst he couldn't see it, the back lines of Darkspawn began to pour back into the Wilds as if ordered to retreat, rest, and regroup. The King's armies were holding their own very well against the Darkspawn. However, Harold couldn't get over the death that was all around him. He kept fighting against the dark, tainted creatures, slaughtering multiple of the fiends until he heard a noise he did not want to hear.

"JERRICK!" The Captain shouted loudly before a Darkspawn arrow slammed into his chest, followed by four others.

Harold spun around, witnessing a sight straight out of a nightmare. Jerrick was on the ground, coughing up blood. A Shriek was standing over him, just about to tear its beaten prey shreds before Harold interfered. First the arms of the beast were chopped off, then he made it fall to the ground by cutting its legs out from under it. It let out shrill shrieks of pain before getting silenced by the cold and blackened steel of Harold's sword getting shoved through its throat. He turned and saw a sight he could not prevent, his jaw dropped and eyes widened with disbelief.

"N-No… Please…" The Captain begged, raising his hand up to a Hurlock Alpha.

The creature simply laughed before sending its mace slamming down, smashing the head of Gerald like a melon. It savored its mighty kill before turning to face Harold, grinning a most foul grin. The young man felt his anger build up before he roared, charging at the Hurlock with rage. It gave another twisted laugh before catching Harold off guard with speed unlike anything the boy had ever encountered. In the span of milliseconds, the Darkspawn had swung his mace with bone-shattering power.

The impact hit Harold's upper-left arm, sending him twirling in the air as he flew backwards from the strike, landing on his back and piling on Jerrick who was unconscious by then. Harold wept in agony, looking over at his arm that was now shattered and lifeless. He couldn't so much as move his fingers, telling him that he probably just lost his entire military career. And life. The world seemed to slow down as the Hurlock approached the two-man pile that was Harold and his friend.

"Human…" It snarled in a wicked, hiss of a voice. "...You're… all… **dead**."

As the Darkspawn raised its mace high above its head, preparing to slam it down on Harold's weakened body just as it had Gerald's head, something caught his attention and he turned immediately in the direction the horde had came from. He lowered his mace with a large, torn smile on his pale face.

"...Lucky…" He said before vanishing from Harold's failing sight.

* * *

"_Young Harold Thyserian truly got a taste of what we Grey Wardens do on a daily basis. He found one of the many Darkspawn that the upper circle of the Ferelden Grey Wardens have been tracking. We have named them the 'Logosha.'" Shadow told Lyna in his growl as they saw the lights of Lothering flickering in the distance. _

"_Why 'The Logosha?' And I thought Darkspawn couldn't communicate." Lyna asked him, raising an eyebrow in genuine curiosity. _

"_Logosha is a word this advanced group, or clan for that matter, seem to chant loudly during some sort of sacrificial ritual. And not all Darkspawn are incapable of speech. Most run solely on a hive-mind like intelligence, at least when in the control of an Archdemon or the most powerful Darkspawn among them. Something controls them by giving them orders. However, some break free from this and can speak many languages, think for themselves, and much more due to their strong minds. The Logosha, however, seem to loosely follow the commands we can only assume come from the Archdemon itself. For an example, imagine the Archdemon telling one of the Logosha to slaughter a woman. It wounds the woman, but decides to kill something else, like her child to maximize her suffering and damage her mental state. It is as if something else is controlling them, and that is a scary thought. It's almost like they are a clan separate from their more common brethren." Shadow responded with a sigh, he did not like speaking so much._

"_How did that Darkspawn move that fast?" Lyna continued._

_Shadow shook his head, "None of us know the answer to that question. However, if our suspicions are true… if and when we find their leader, we can find out what is going on. A Hurlock should not have the strength and power of an Ogre, that is far from natural." _

_And with all of that said, they walked into Lothering, heading straight to the tavern where plenty of other Warden recruits were waiting for them. Finally, a reason for peace and quiet for the Warden clad in black armor. Shadow was growing tired of Lyna's constant questions. During the trip, it felt as if a war was being waged between her undying curiosity and Shadow's undying desire to be as his name implies: a quiet shadow._

**Author's Note: Okay, so the NEXT one will be the mages. Sorry. -Saren**


	7. Prologue - Chapter 5

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Chapter 5: The Start of an Adventure_

"Neria Surana, you are assigned Enchanter Amell as a teacher." First Enchanter Irving said with his voice like gravel.

Neria Surana, a eighteen year old elvish girl who had just been found and taken to Ferelden's Circle of Magi, sighed at the sounds that to her, meant she had a new _master_. It was bad enough she had to live her life in an Alienage as an elf. She was abused constantly in her so called home, and each time it grew harder and harder for her to keep her magic secret. She could not describe how much she just wanted to melt the flesh from the bones of her abusers. She had long and flowing red hair, and as luck would have it bright blue eyes that complimented her appearance very well. Clearly she had taken good care of herself, as her skin was smooth and silky, her face beautiful yet strong. Not a man in the world could spot an imperfection with her physiognomy.

Daylen Amell, a sixty year old human male sighed at the news as well. He hated training Apprentices, and unfortunately for him, that was **all** they had asked of him for the past three years. He made his way to his newly named Apprentice and examined her with his grey, weathered eyes. He had long, pure white hair as well as a thick beard. When someone thought of mages, he was what one would expect. He looked experienced, intelligent, sarcastic, and somewhat hostile as if every word he spoke would bring venom spitting at you. He had a scar running across his forehead horizontally, which was most definitely a peculiar sight.

"Great, a child elf." He grumbled in his worn voice.

This made Neria huff in annoyance, "What, do you have a hatred of my kind, shem?" She asked hastily. Perhaps **too** hastily.

"Not to any extent. You will find I hold hatred towards everyone unless they prove themselves worthy. Right now you are nothing but an Apprentice who doesn't know anything, and that irks me. Perhaps when I am done training you, we will be good friends." Daylen grumbled before using his staff as a walking stick. "Come, come. We should start your training immediately if you hope to get anywhere."

The elf simply shook her head, following the slow old man. "Don't count on it…" She hissed under her breath, more or less saying he was going to be useless to her.

"I heard that."

"Good."

* * *

They had made their way to what was known as the 'training sector' of the tower. This was where most Enchanters took their Apprentices to train and hone their skills in their chosen field of study. Unfortunately for Daylen, his specialties lied in multiple branches of magic, and as such, he had multiple people to train. Luckily, however, today he only had the Surana girl to train, though she seemed like a handful to say the least.

Neria huffed and eyed the old man, "What are we doing here?"

"Training."

She replied to that, annoyance rising in her voice with each word spoken, "Oh yeah? How, I don't see anything going on!"

Before she could speak more, she found herself slammed against the stone wall by some powerful force. Wind, to be exact. Daylen was pointing his staff at her, a grin upon his face as if he was challenging her.

"I need not tell you what to do, surely, young one." He said tauntingly, watching her facial expressions which jumped back and forth from annoyance and worry. Surely he wouldn't do anything too serious, right?

Suddenly, seemingly with no prior thought to it, Neria sent a large shockwave towards Daylen. It caused the stone underneath them to crack and send the old man flying, slamming into the other wall. He groaned as he fell to his hands and knees, looking up at her. Whilst he was aged, his body had the strength and endurance of a thirty year old.

"Interesting…" He muttered under his breath, examining the woman before him as she approached cautiously.

"A-Are you alright, Enchanter?" She asked, clearly worried about the elderly man's health. For reasons of her own safety, of course.

He chuckled as he slowly got up, "Yes, dear girl. That concluded our initialization training. You have left me with much to think about." He said before motioning towards the exit of the training wing. "Care to accompany me?"

"S-Sure…" Neria replied, following him as he began walking.

* * *

Two months had passed by since that day, and the bond between master and apprentice had taken effect on Daylen and young Neria. One of the apprentices had taken her Harrowing today, but unfortunately failed and its result ended in her death. There was to be a funeral the next day at dusk. Of course, knowing the consequences of the Harrowing only made Neria nervous for her own, which took place today. Her and Daylen were slowly walking through the library to get to the top floor where the Harrowing was being held.

"Daylen… I'm scared… I don't want to have to do this." She mumbled, holding onto the old man's arm.

He snickered, "You are more than capable, girl. You would not be taking it if you did not stand a chance at it. Not to mention I have taught you, that means that you have more experience under your belt than any other Apprentice here. You know how to handle demons, I have taught you, remember? Just do not give them any opening, and do not even think of offering them permission to see the world through your eyes. They will lie and cheat their way to your body. Much like most men."

"I know, I know… I just don't want to end up like that girl…" Neria sighed, looking up at the Enchanter. His closing statement flew past her head.

"You shan't. Just remember what you have been taught, and know that if anyone tries to kill you they will have me to deal with. Not even Irving dare challenge me, and the Templars know naught of my power." Daylen replied with a small smile.

Yes, in the couple of months they had to know each other, they had grown quite close. Daylen, since that first training session, had learned that she was more than she looked. Which, if anyone was being honest, she looked like nothing. Someone you could easily crumple up into a ball and toss on the side of the road. This was not the case, however, and she held within herself more power than even Daylen could comprehend. It was as if she could manipulate the entire existence around a place and use it against her foes. He had learned this when somehow or another a solid piece of square metal formed into a spear-like object that was thrust at him with extreme speed when she had gotten angered one evening.

Like her, Daylen himself had strong powers that remained hidden from public eye. The more she showed hers, the more he realized that his own were some form of 'anti-Neria' powers as his seemed to be able to counter the elf's pretty well. For example, she could cast a fireball at him, but in response to this he could just spray water at it and end its short lived life. This made them the perfect team, and they shared the mutual knowledge that if they befriended one another and came to respect one another, they could topple nearly any challenge. With the Chantry keeping a close eye on both of them after an incident with another Enchanter and her Apprentice, they had to be careful with everything they did. The walls of the Tower had eyes and ears all over them. One mistake and you would end up in the Aeonar. The Mage's prison. A place neither of them wanted to be in.

"But you don't know that!" Neria protested after a moment of silence.

Daylen shook his head, stopping in his tracks and placing his hands on the young woman's shoulders. "Look," he said, "...believe in your training, and believe in yourself. Everything will be fine. I'll be waiting for you to wake up, and then we can begin our assignment the First Enchanter has given us."

The young elf tilted her head. Sure, she knew they were a part of a secret section of the mage culture within the Circles. They, unlike many others, were permitted to leave with permission from both the First Enchanter, and Knight-Commander. Usually, when they were granted leave from the Tower, it was because they were assigned to a task. This specific one was to hunt down a Maleficar whom was once a student at the Tower. Jowan. They both knew the man well. He and his two friends, a Chantry initiate, and a mute mage. Whilst the initiate got taken away to the Aeonar, the silent mage forced Daylen's hand. He was there with both the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter when it had happened. As such, the mute mage died a painful death given to him by Daylen for trying to kill both the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter when they were downed. The Blood Mage, however, escaped before Daylen could get to him. None of this, however, broke her worrying. The Harrowing… it was not just a matter of life and death, it was a matter of whether or not she'd get possessed. Forced into pain and torment for Maker knows how long.

"Stop your worrying, I can sense it. You know me. If anything goes wrong, I'll be there to pull you out of it, young one." Daylen reassured her with a warm smile.

* * *

It was the dawn of a new day. Neria had passed her Harrowing, and Daylen watched over her whilst she slept. He and his apprentices got their own little headquarters along with bedrooms, located in an unknown part of the Tower. The reason for this simply had to do with their power, their freedoms, and their duties. Each of them was hand picked by the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter to carry out their tasks with extreme efficiency and precision. Their missions were the ones King's feared and often were classified as 'suicide missions.' They dealt with demons, undead, possessed mages, abominations, Darkspawn, all sorts of foes that were deemed too dangerous to let others handle. They were the best, yet, at the same time, they were all disposable. Even Daylen himself.

They were seen as antisocial because of their work. They were not allowed to speak so openly, so freely to other mages. Many found it mysterious, but, with a little encouragement from the higher-ups, wrote it off merely as them being mentored by an overly strict teacher. Of course this meant Daylen had to play his part, which in reality, he secretly enjoyed every minute of doing so.

Neria's eyes fluttered open and immediately ran into Daylen's. "Master…?" She asked as she rubbed her forehead.

"Yes, it is I. Welcome back to the real world, young one. Get up and wake up quickly… Irving wishes us to meet with our client." The elderly mage said with a warm smile, "He is a Grey Warden. **The** Grey Warden in fact. Warden-Commander Duncan himself. We are to leave with him to the village of Lothering where we are to meet with others before heading down to Ostagar."

"Grey Ward- Daylen! You aren't saying we are becoming one with-" Neria said before getting interrupted, her face was flushed due to overwhelming confusion.

"Where did you get such ideas? No… we are simply going there to aid in the fight against the Darkspawn. No need to look too far into things, young lady. He is recruiting for the Wardens, yes, but he is also just looking for support against those monsters." The man said before standing up and stretching, several bones popping in his body. "So, get up! We don't have all day before he leaves and we must be going with him."

Neria allowed her head to fall back down into the comforting embrace of her pillow. Her head was spinning, she had just woken up and was already told she had to go with a Grey Warden to fight Darkspawn. She hadn't become a mage for such things, in fact, she didn't want to do anything with her powers other than live peacefully. How did she get tangled into this? Before another thought could get through her mind, she felt a pillow slam against her face.

"Get up! Now is not the time for slumber!"

Damn it Daylen…

"And never call me '_master'_ again! I'm the master of no one, I'm simply a teacher!"

Ugh.

"Wait... what about Jowan?" She asked.

Daylen smirked and shook his head despite her eyes being covered by the pillow, "He is a secondary objective for us as of right now. Should we encounter him, we shall bring him to justice accordingly." He replied. "Now again... GET! UP!"

**Hey guys, Saren here, sorry about the long pause between uploads. I'm afraid I must announce another long wait as my life has been fairly busy as of late. The next chapter posted will probably be more with Lyna, Shadow, and the others who in present time are currently gathered and waiting in Lothering. Also, sorry if this chapter didn't come out as grand for such a long wait, but do not worry. The chapters to come will only get better to make up for any inconveniences this one caused.**


	8. Prologue - Chapter 6

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Chapter 6 : Enjoy it while it lasts_

Shadow sat in the room he and Lyna shared, sighing loudly as she continued to blabber nonsense into his ears. All he wanted to do was remove his armor and rest, but unfortunately, the Dalish girl seemed to refuse him that luxury. Then, she said something that caught his interest.

"-heal you. You surely have a few wounds." She finished with a beaming smile.

He chuckled, "I have metal burned to my clothing and by the feeling of it, my flesh. I'm fine, just another day on the farm."

The young elf tilted her head, wondering what he meant by that. Seeing this caused Shadow to roll his head around, the sound of plate moving against plate was heard as he did so.

"It's a saying. Go, get a drink. Some food. Talk with the others. I'll tend to myself." He ordered, only to get a rather ugly look directed at him.

"I'm not leaving you. Seeing your behavior has led me to believe you'll just make your wounds worse. I can't let you do that." She hummed defiantly.

This annoyed the man, "Girl, I've been in this business far longer than you have. I've been impaled on a Darkspawn's spear before. I know how to heal myself. Now. Go!" He snarled.

She did not budge.

"Lyna, you're a pain in the ass." He commented with a growl as he slammed his back against the bedroom wall and began to remove his gauntlets and armor.

She giggled at that, watching the man as he slowly undid his armor. How he could bear the pain of moving his arms, she had no idea. They seemed to be the area that was hit the most. Their form melted like they were. It couldn't have helped that at the current time they had cooled and were now set in place. Deformed. Surely this man knew that his armor was useless at this point? Come to think of it. Had he ever shown her his face behind that menacing helmet? She did not believe so.

"How am I, a pretty little innocent elf girl like me, a pain in anyone's posterior?" Lyna asked with wide, innocent and by all definitions, the dreaded 'puppy' eyes.

He didn't respond, but merely let out a loud hiss as he forced the melted plate arm harness from his right arm. Shortly after he did the same for the other. Doing this revealed the smoked, torn, and lightly torched black cloth he wore. Where the tears were, pieces of metal could be seen formed onto his flesh. A painful looking sight. He didn't begin to remove any more armor, however, and unsheathed one of the daggers that he had cleaned previously.

"If you don't like the sight of blood or blades cutting into things, I suggest you turn away now." He warned the girl, not even giving her a second to react before he took his dagger and began cutting each piece of melted metal out piece by piece.

She quickly moved her head away so she didn't have to see that sight. "Thank you! Jerk! Give me a little more time to react next time, why don't you?!" Lyna huffed rather angrily, loudly.

She didn't like the sight of the man hurting himself. In fact, she thought it seemed very queer how he was making a wound worse to heal it. Surely cutting patches of skin off with the metal was not a wise idea.

"Tel'abelas." He chuckled, removing the last piece of metal, which of course had to be the largest. What he had said also seemed to have made Lyna's face go red.

Now with warm and fresh blood pouring from the wounds he had just created, he began to channel healing magics to heal them. Thankfully, due to them being fresh, he had faith he could make a full recovery. Also known as a scarless recovery, which he didn't need more of those marks of experience on his arms, or body as a whole. The man had seen countless battles, and was not always allowed to use magic to cure his wounds. This meant he had scars everywhere, but due to using his arms as mobile shields quite often, they were the most scarred parts of his body.

Once he was fully healed, he slumped back against the wall breathing heavily. It was of no surprise that he was exhausted, he never truly trained in the art of healing magics. Thus, when he began to use novice spells, let alone advanced ones, he spent a lot of his energy and concentration. Often when forced to use such spells in battle, he could rely on adrenaline and the magic abilities he is trained in as well as his physical training to keep him going until the end. Much like a berserker, who will keep on going despite their body experiencing major wear-and-tear.

"Why don't you remove the rest of your armor and rest?" Lyna asked him as she got up off of her bed and walked over to his, sitting beside him.

He huffed, too tired to bother fighting her. "For reasons. If you really deem it necessary, remove my armor for me. Otherwise? I'm resting and you can deal with it."

The elf took him up on his offer and sat up, going directly for his helmet. So he was going to let her see what he looked like beneath that black suit. She would be lying if she said didn't feel excited about that. From what she could tell by his arms, he was muscular underneath the armor, perhaps to the point the armor was just protecting his flesh from wounds he couldn't always block. A wise and pretty basic use for armor. If not **the** use for such things.

She slowly grasped onto his helmet and pulled it upwards off of his head. This revealed his medium-length ashen hair which was rather messy at the moment due to him sweating inside the helmet. He had a rough beard, which she could tell was groomed before being neglected for some time. The woman also noted a faded, barely noticeable rune-like scar carved into his middle forehead. On top of all his features was his blood red eyes, which were actually quite beautiful despite him being tired at that moment. A general description of his face would be tired, strong, and disciplined. It was like he refused to let his emotions show. Not to mention, he seemed young. Like he was barely in his twenties.

"Happy?" He asked slowly, his speech somewhat of a growling whisper.

She shook her head, forcing him to sit up. The Dalish girl spent a few more minutes removing his armor until all that remained was his black shirt which was tattered around the arms and his black cloth pants and boots. He really seemed to want to be a shadow, constantly wearing things that blended into the darkness.

He actually laid down on the bed this time, still looking up at her. Whilst her gaze explored his own, she couldn't help but think his eyes were glowing. Part of her wanted to extinguish the candle lights so she could test that theory.

He huffed, closing his eyes which were otherwise normal save for their color. "Like I said, get food, get drink, then get sleep. The others are going to want to meet you, and I have armor I need to repair."

"But, what about the others?" She asked, getting her companion to shake his head.

"Hear that?" He asked, shutting up so she could hear nothing but relative silence. "They went to bed. As is evident by the lack of merrimaking." He informed her with a small smirk.

With a huff she got off of his bed and exited the room. That man. He was curious for a human, and his appearance did nothing to help her curiosity. He just had a strange aura surrounding him, and she was determined to find out the cause of it. Something she couldn't say about other humans. Besides, this one believed in her gods? The Creators? She had a hard time believing it, or understanding it.

She made her way downstairs and to the innkeeper, ordering nothing but bread and water. When the man had asked for one silver, which was overpriced for such a 'meal,' she tilted her head. She didn't have need for such currencies before with the clan. She looked up at the man with sad eyes, she was hungry, she was thirsty, but she was also poor in the eyes of the human culture. Poorer than poor.

A man walked up to her side and slammed down two silvers with a smirk upon his rather sick looking face. He didn't look sick in the traditional sense of having an illness, no, it was the type of sick that is commonly associated with those who force themselves upon others. In fact, Lyna had a twisting sensation in her stomach which only intensified as the innkeep grabbed the money and disappeared into the kitchen.

* * *

Shadow sat there in the quiet darkness of the room. His eyes closed. He heard ghostly whispers speak to him in their haunting tone, feeding him information, threatening to kill him, attempting to seduce him and oh so much more. He had his hands linked together by his fingers with his head resting in his palms. It was then he heard something most suspicious. Followed by a brief silence, there were the sounds of a struggle coming from the lower level of the inn.

_Damned girl…_ He thought quietly to himself. _We've only been here for a few hours and you've already picked a fight with someone. Why does this not surprise me?_

Regretfully, he got up onto his feet and off of the comforting bed. Whether he liked it or not, Lyna was his recruit. Everyone here save for the mages were, but, he had a feeling Duncan had planned to sweet talk them into joining. Shadow moved to the door, his footsteps not emitting a single sound. It was as if he were weightless. He slowly opened the wooden door and made his way over to the railing which allowed him to overlook the scene happening below. His glowing red eyes widened.

Lyna was currently subdued, her arms bent behind her back and held in place by the wrists from a man's large and powerful hand. She was placed so she was bent over a table, her entire back side completely vulnerable to the filth's advances, which he did make. A somewhat muffled but still audible smack was heard as he slapped her posterior. Shadow had enough, he had all he needed to act accordingly. With a soft whisper, he jumped over the wooden railing and all lights in the inn seemed to get snuffed out. Even the one the roaring fireplace gave.

"Let me go!" Lyna hissed.

The man shook his head, pushing and grinding his groin up against her rear. "Shut up, knife-ear. Also… there was no wind… where'd the lights go?" He snarled in response. "No matter…" He concluded as his free hand squeezed her rear, causing the young elf to let out a disgusted groan.

"Hehe, I like that sound…"

A guttural voice came from behind him, speaking in a language the man had no knowledge of. He slowly turned around, but due to the dark inn he only saw blood red eyes staring back at him.

What happened next was a blur in the shadows, save for a momentary flash. All Lyna knew was that the man was removed from her, and with a few snaps and cracks, a thud was heard. The flames that provided light all burst back into life and she turned around, revealing the rather bloody sight of the mangled corpse of the man. Mangled meant his face was hardly noticeable due to being caved in and bloodied severely. His neck had scorch marks in the shape of a hand on it, and his hands were literally mangled. Their bones broken in so many ways they lost their form. Above the corpse? Shadow.

The Warden's arms were crossed, and he did not seem amused. "It would appear that I need to follow you everywhere, girl." He sighed.

"It wasn't like I had a choice! I was left here by the innkeeper! I couldn't... I'm sorry, Shadow." She huffed, her face going bright red as a result of a mixture of emotions.

"It's alright, Lyna. I understand. Come… let's get food and drink and head upstairs." He said softly with a small grin. It sure was easy to get under that elf's skin and bug her.

* * *

And so they did, after Shadow kicked open the kitchen door and forced the innkeeper to give them what they deserved, and for free. After that, they made their way upstairs where they sat on Shadow's bed to eat their meal and talk in peace. Well, Shadow would have preferred silence, but Lyna was the one who always had to have conversation. At least with him, as she didn't seem to be too talkative to others. She seemed to have avoided the other recruits when they first arrived in Lothering.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." Shadow spoke before taking a drink of his milk.

Lyna looked up at him and tilted her head, "Pardon?"

"The relatively good food, the comfortable bed, the pleasant company and conversations, everything. As soon as we hit Ostagar, it all will change. I've a feeling things will not be concluded in those ruins as many think." He replied, taking a bite of his mutton.

"Why not?" She asked, nibbling on her own food.

"Something just… feels very wrong. But, don't worry about it. It's nothing for you to worry about." The Warden concluded.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, eventually finishing and setting their empty plates down together on an end table. "Idiot." Lyna huffed before moving to her bed and laying down, covering herself up in the furs.

"What?" Shadow growled.

"You're an idiot."

"Oh hoh, do enlighten me how I am anything of the sort."

"You say something like 'something feels wrong' and then expect me not to be curious and slightly worried." She mumbled, clearly unhappy.

He shook his head, rolling his eyes before laying down again and closing them. "Sorry, your royal highness, but even if I told you what is going on, you wouldn't understand. You'd think I'm crazy. But, maybe after your Joining I will tell you my thoughts. Until then? You've some friends to make tomorrow. So get some sleep."

"Whatever…" She dismissed him in a rather soft voice. "It's not like-"

"Sleep. Now."

"Shadow!"

"**No**. Go. To. **Sleep**."

"Fine!"

The Warden huffed, "I swear, it's like dealing with a young child." He spoke under his breath.

It was not long before both had fallen asleep. One more heavily than the other. Shadow hadn't the time to speak to the innkeeper properly about Lyna's attacker. The weasel of an old man better have some answers. Otherwise? Darkspawn will look like beautiful creations compared to the Shadow.

**I lied. It was actually only like, a few days. Hope you like it. I liked making it. I felt fluffy. Just don't go telling anyone that I was being fluffy for once. 'Kay? 'Kay.**


	9. Prologue - Mini-Chapter 3

Prologue: Betrayal

Mini-Chapter 3: The Breach

Time: Three days before Lyna's Conscription, 04:00 hours

"You ready?" A twisted snarl of a voice asked.

"What's there to be ready for? We're heavily outnumbered by trained killers. It's going to be a walk in the park." A more feminine voice responded.

"As you say, Dark Mother." The other responded.

"Stay here and begin the portal preparations. I'll get the relic and we will be gone from the surface." She said with a sigh, getting stopped.

"Dark Mother, are you sure you wish to do this alone?" The being accompanying her asked, "You are outnumbered, and if you are captured…"

"I won't be captured. Get that portal open, I'll be back within the hour." She concluded before walking away from the small dip in the ground they were hiding in.

Time: 04:35 hours

"So, have you ever seen what we're guarding anyway?" One of the Cousland guards asked, looking over to his comrade.

"No. Rumor has it only the Cousland Family and a few chosen guards have. Grunts like us aren't allowed inside." The other man replied with a soft chuckle. "I just can't wait until they change the guards. I want to see my wife and daughter again soon."

"I hear you there. We've been standing here for days, my feet are aching." His friend grumbled in response before spotting three men rushing towards them. "Oh now what, Sergeant is coming. At attention!"

The both of them snapped into a disciplined posture, their arms to their sides and their bodies standing tall. The only movement that was visible was barely seen, and that was their breathing. However, when they saw one of the men collapse with bloodied armor, they lost the posture and drew their weapons and shields.

"Sergeant! What's going on?!" One of them called out.

"Woman… in black! Wiped out everyone save for us! She's c- AARGH!" The man shouted before electricity swarmed he and his remaining comrade.

They convulsed for a good minute before the electricity dispersed and they collapsed to the ground. Behind them was a woman dressed in a tattered black cloak, along with robes that appeared very rugged and scavenged together. Her hands were bound in the same cloth wraps, as were her feet. She slowly approached the two, and when they raised their shields she stopped with a small smirk seen on her pale face.

"State your name, mage!" One of the men ordered with a wavering voice.

"Names? I have many, and none of them matter. You do not see me asking you of your names, yet you are most important to my mission." She stated with a cool and smooth voice.

"Like hell we are…" The other guard growled.

"Oh? You see, from what I understand all of your men are disposed of." She said with a shrug, "Unless you want a similar fate, I suggest you do what I ask."

"You're at the south entrance, mage, we've a whole lot more just waiting to hear us shout over in the north." One of them bluffed.

"Oh really? Show them, Gruk." She commanded and a large Hurlock clad in black twisted plate armor chuckled before tossing two bodies off of the top of the vault, which was built into a small hill.

"Your forces in the north were minimal, from what I understand. Or, I should say, the same as down here." She stated as the Hurlock jumped down and crashed onto his feet in front of the two men.

He turned around and eyed them with his greyed eyes that had flaming red pupils. "Now open the door." The woman commanded once more, walking up beside the Hurlock.

The men, stricken with fear, turned around and got out their keys. They shoved the pieces of metal into the sockets designated for them, and twisted them at the same time. Clicks were heard and the woman smiled once more as the two opened up the vault slowly. She walked inside, but not before relaying one final order the two would hear.

"Gruk, put them to sleep and wipe their memories of this encounter. We do not need to leave a trail."

"All of them, Mother?" He asked.

"No. Leave one glimpse of myself in their minds. I want the Couslands, nay, all of Ferelden to fear what is coming." She replied before venturing further into the vault.

"Your will be done, Mother." Gruk said just as the two guards turned and tried to fight him, only to get their heads slammed against the stone wall of the vault.

She walked inside slowly and looked around. It wasn't that large of a vault, in fact, she assumed that the north and south weren't even connected. That was evident by the stone wall right in front of her. The woman let out a soft sigh and looked down at the wooden and iron box that was bolted up tight. The effort into keeping the relic secure was so pathetic it made her giggle quietly. Such a powerful item to be left in such a pathetically secure 'vault.'

"Oh, you Couslands…" She muttered under her breath before waving her hand across the lock, breaking it open in an instant.

She bent down and slowly opened the chest, and in a spectacular bluish-purple glow the room lit up. The pure radiance of the relic she was looking at was nearly blinding, and it was enough to shine outside as well. This caused Gruk to look inside briefly, before remembering his orders not to look at the relic himself. The Hierarchs of the Logosha forbade all to look upon it, and when asked why they divined the answer that it would kill any Darkspawn who dared place their corrupted eyes on it. He hoped that was just a lazy answer given to keep the bulk of the Logosha off of their backs, but judging from what he felt during his brief glance, they had not lied.

The Dark Mother quickly covered up the relic and hurried outside. "Come, Gruk. Leave them behind. We've no need of them any longer." She said before a black and purple portal opened up in front of them.

"As you command." Gruk replied before following her into the portal.

The portal dissipated just in time, as after all of the traces had vanished, Cousland reinforcements arrived. "Sir! We've got wounded up ahead!" The scout called out. It looked like a battle had just taken place, but there were no signs of death.

**Author Note: **_**Hello everyone, do not worry. This is not the actual chapter that has taken so long. This is just a little... appetizer if you will. The real chapter should be posted tomorrow night! I will tell you now, if you are wondering about the awkward story that just popped up in this mini chapter, all will be answered as time passes on. This chapter is really just meant to make it so you can understand something in the next chapter.**_


	10. Prologue - Chapter 7

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Chapter 7: Noble Blood_

_Shadow sighed and looked Lyna straight into her beautiful blue eyes that shined in the moonlight. "Being a Grey Warden isn't about heroism. It's not about being noticed and getting paraded through Denerim for your good deeds. The deeds you perform are neither good nor bad. Neither light nor dark. Neutrality is kept among the Grey Wardens, our only sworn enemy are the Darkspawn that threaten us all, and creatures such as the demons from the Fade. Were you conscripted in another time, your deeds would have fallen unnoticed by the world." _

_Lyna nodded slowly, but tilted her head as a new question revealed itself in her mind. "What if one of the national leaders becomes corrupt? Starts slaying his own people for the fun of it?" _

"_Politics are not in our interest, but if it threatens our domain it is a threat we must involve ourselves in. If we are say, in a castle, and a jealous Lord besieges it… We must involve ourselves to ensure the greater good is dealt and that we can get out. Which doesn't always mean fighting the belligerent." Shadow replied, his gaze softer than it always had been. "Now, hit the floor. Three hundred in three minutes." _

"_Three hundred?! Who do you think I am?!" The elf gasped in shock._

"_A procrastinator. Get to work, earn your title as a Grey Warden. Just because we're in the clear now, and can rest before Ostagar, doesn't mean we will." Shadow grumbled with a small smirk finding itself onto his hardened face._

* * *

**Time: 09:00 Hours**

"So, we're heading to Highever for the Cousland children?" Darrian asked Duncan as the two rode on horseback towards the castle.

They were going at a steady pace so they could have a conversation before they arrived. After all, Duncan needed to make sure the young Tabris knew how to act so he did not blow the cover they needed. So, the Warden-Commander smiled and nodded slowly.

"Yes, though we are going to be pretending to arrive there in order to inspect Ser Gilmore. You will play your part as my recruit, and it is most imperative you do not speak of any ulterior motives I have shared with you regarding recruiting the Teyrn's children. That would not sit kindly with him." Duncan responded in his usual wise and quite smooth voice.

Darrian smiled, "Act like I'm just a recruit who knows nothing more than having been recruited to fight Darkspawn until I die. I think I can pull that off."

"It should not be too difficult for you, Darrian. After all, that is precisely what has happened. Do not make me regret trusting you with this information. Besides, I'm sure the Teyrn will already know I am looking at his children as potential recruits. Not that it will change his opinion on the matter. So, we shall still focus on Ser Gilmore." Duncan continued on, "Let us make haste. Midday is fast approaching and I want to be there before the Teyrn and his men leave for Ostagar."

So they continued their journey in relative silence. Hours had passed before Castle Cousland was in their sights and, whilst he had grown up in Denerim, Darrian felt small compared to the castle. It was as if the aura of the men who stood watch over the entire castle seeped into his heart. Honor, strength, justice, law, courage, all were things one could feel when in the shadow of the castle. The portcullis opened along with the reinforced wooden doors behind it. It was such a grand welcoming, as numerous soldiers stood at attention and four stood to greet them personally. The two men rode their horses forward for a few feet before stopping to be addressed by the men.

"Ah! Warden-Commander! We were told to expect you. This is the recruit that you said would be accompanying you, I take it?" One of the soldiers, an older man and most likely a veteran of the rebellion against Orlais.

Duncan chuckled, "Please, just call me Duncan and yes, this is my recruit. We have come from Denerim. It was quite the journey."

The soldier nodded, "Aye, I bet. How fares Denerim? We haven't heard much, other than the King has marched down to Ostagar."

"It is quite well, though it is as corrupt and dangerous as ever. The only real safe place to be is the merchant district, and even that is dangerous." Duncan replied.

"So, not much has changed." The soldier chuckled in response, "Well, head on in to the stables. Teyrn Cousland awaits you in the main hall. Oh, and Duncan? Word of warning; Arl Howe is here."

Duncan smiled and nodded despite the news. He had a feeling that the Arl being there would be a very bad situation. Rendon's father, Tarleton, had fought with the Orlesians, and in doing so gave his support to the occupation of Ferelden. The Cousland's hung the man and practically beat his dangling corpse when the war was over. Whilst Rendon hadn't really shown any hostility towards the Cousland's for the death of his father, no child would allow such a thing to go without thinking of avenging their loved one and no doubt inspiration.

As they entered Castle Cousland that was all Duncan could think about. Rendon would no doubt hinder his progress just by being there. It wasn't something that could really be avoided if it had proven to be true in these next few hours, or even days. The overall state of Ferelden was a weakened one, Duncan had to admit. If he were one of Ferelden nobility, he would probably see all the potential the Darkspawn in the south represented. With the King and his attention turned to Ostagar, a power grab was more than likely. Such a thing was almost a fact.

They stabled their horses and headed inside the main hall where they found Teyrn Bryce Cousland talking with his youngest son and Arl Howe. Well, the guard at the portcullis was correct. The Arl was there. He slowly stopped Darrian and with a quiet voice, spoke to him.

"Here we are. Stay close beside me, and only speak if you are addressed. Otherwise, allow me to do the talking. Understood?" The Warden-Commander asked as he crossed his arms.

Tabris nodded, "Yes, Commander."

"Good. Come on, then." Duncan said as he allowed his hands to fall back down to his side.

He turned around and headed straight for the group of people. When he arrived, he immediately caught the attention of young Aedan Cousland. The young man looked like he longed for battle. He was tall, strongly built, and had the gaze of desire for adventure. His well kept dirty blonde hair complimented his eyes very well. The only thing that one could complain about his visage was the fact that it didn't look that great without facial hair. Though, being nobility he had to keep it trimmed unless out on the battlefield. No, the young Cousland often had to attend meetings and courts. Neither of which thrilled him like getting down into the pit with the men and training.

"So this is the Grey Warden, father?" He asked in an intrigued tone.

"Indeed he is, pup. This is Duncan, Warden-Commander of the Ferelden Grey Wardens. With him, I believe, is his latest recruit from Denerim. I apologize, I do not believe I know your name." Bryce said as he looked at the elf.

Darrian bowed before straightening back up. "My name is Darrian Tabris, Your Lordship." He said crisply, not wanting to get into trouble by being defiant.

That was the one thing all elves knew about human nobility. One wrongly phrased sentence could mean a life or death sentence. All it took was one wrong word, and it was possible to end up dead where you stood. At least, that's how it was in the Denerim Alienage. He hated that place, and he couldn't for the life of him understand why his father insisted on staying there. Sure, living off of the land like, or with the Dalish couldn't have been easy. But, it would have been a hell of a lot easier to do that than get abused all day long for your entire life like he had. They wouldn't even permit him one happy occasion there, no, the nobles had to come and kidnap his bride. Perhaps that was for the best, though. He didn't like thinking about what Shianni had thought about the marriage. Those two had become close in their time together, especially since his sister left the family at the age of ten.

"Nice to meet you, Darrian. An elf joining the Grey Wardens?" Aedan said with a smile, "I'm glad to know that we are well protected from the Darkspawn."

Oh, it was no secret that the Cousland boy had an unlikely respect for the elves. Ever since he saved the family of an elder veteran who just so happened to be an elf, he often went behind his family's back to learn under him. Eventually, the Couslands actually hired the elvish man to train their children when they found out that Aedan, who was only fourteen at the time, could topple one of their most strengthened soldiers. Such a thing was not public knowledge, however, due to the fact that if any other noble family with their heads up their rears found out it would only cause an issue for the Cousland family.

Darrian smiled and bowed again, only briefly this time. "Your words honor, and inspire me, my Lord."

"Please, just call me Aedan." The young man said before turning to his father. "So who are they here to inspect? Me, I hope."

Bryce nearly choked at hearing what his son had just said. "What?! Oh no, no, pup, I'm not so careless as to send both of my sons into battle." He said with a nervous chuckle.

"Why, I think it's a rather good idea. If I were here for recruits, I'd look at your children." Howe said with a sneer. "More Aedan and young Elissa than Fergus."

Bryce sighed, "Be that as it may, it changes nothing. I'm not going to have all of my children be sent off to battle whilst my home is unguarded."

"That is most alright, Teyrn Cousland," Duncan chuckled, "I understand. Where is this Ser Gilmore, if I may ask? I believe he is the one who I am here to inspect."

Bryce nodded with a smile, "Of course, Duncan, but please stay and rest for awhile. You can meet him after dinner. You've only just arrived, and I know Elissa will want to meet you."

"Why, of course. Thank you for your hospitality." Duncan said, "Where may we stay for the evening?"

"Our guest housing, of course. Pup, why don't you show them the way there?" The Teyrn asked as he turned to his son.

Aedan's eyes lit up with joy at the idea, "Of course, father! Come with me, Wardens. It's a short walk, but well worth it. We've actually just had it cleaned and prepared for your arrival." With that having been said, the young man took the lead of the two Wardens and they left the main hall. As they walked through the streets Aedan decided to inform the Wardens of all that had been going on around Highever and Castle Cousland in the past month.

"We had a breach in security in one of our secret vaults earlier this week. Guards say that some woman dressed in black, ragged clothing pulled it off. I don't see how one person could have operated such a heist however, as we had stationed twenty guards around the vault. Of which, only four were visible. When we got there, all of our men were severely injured, not killed, and we found hardly any tracks. **No one** is that good…" He said with a sigh, taking a right turn onto another street.

Darrian shrugged, "Perhaps it was the Dalish? They are light on their feet, they are known to know how to cover their tracks, and don't always kill."

"That's a good suggestion, but I don't think the Dalish would really want anything to do with what was in that vault." Aedan replied.

Duncan spoke up, "I do not mean to sound like a fanatic, but perhaps it was a person corrupted by the Darkspawn? Me and a comrade of mine investigated a break in for one of Arl Eamon's vaults, and when we got there we found around fifteen Hurlocks waiting for us as well as a ghoul. Female."

"Was she human?" Aedan asked, stopping in his tracks.

"No, she was a dwarf." Duncan replied, "Why?"

"The woman who infiltrated our vault was a human. There were no Darkspawn to be discovered, and they aren't exactly the most stealthiest of beings." Aedan said with a low grumble before continuing to lead them to their housing.

Duncan chuckled, "That is not true. Just because the bulk of them travel in hordes does not mean they are not masters of stealth. Shrieks, for instance, can appear behind you at any moment and unless you are a Warden, you may not be able to react quick enough to save your own life."

"I suppose that's true." Aedan said before opening up a door to a rather large looking house. "Here we are. Your home for as long as you stay here in Castle Cousland."

Duncan and Darrian both bowed before entering the house. "Thank you, Aedan." Duncan said with a smile as he inspected the house. He had seen plenty of worse places to sleep than this.

"You are welcome, Grey Wardens. I wish I could stay and talk, but I've a message to deliver to my brother before he sets off to Ostagar. I'll see you at dinner tonight." Aedan said with a bow of his own before taking off.

Darrian closed the door and looked over at Duncan who was already in the pantry. "Are you kidding me?" He asked, "Darkspawn are now doing things bandits and outlaws usually do?"

Duncan chuckled as he found a jar, shaking it to hear a rattling noise. "Not all Darkspawn are low in intelligence. In fact, many of them are quite intelligent beings. The Logosha, for instance, are a large and organized group of Darkspawn. Though, even we Wardens are not sure of what their purpose may be. The Logosha are all capable of speaking our languages, and have proven to be very powerful."

"Great. So I signed my soul over to death. Great." Darrian sighed as he moved to join the Warden who was browsing around.

Duncan smiled as he glanced over at the Elf. "If my memory serves me correctly, you didn't sign anything. It was either join the Wardens or get executed for you, my friend. I chose the former for you."

Darrian let out a grumble as he found the dishes. "That's not very fair."

"By that time, young Tabris, your life was not your own to control. It was quite literally either execution or this, there was nothing you could do. I didn't want to see your life go to waste, so forgive me." Duncan replied quickly, and Darrian saw where he came from.

It partly warmed up the elf's heart. Duncan had seemed to care somewhat about his life, despite the fact they didn't know nothing about each other. He guessed that was what it would be like with all of the Wardens when they met. Pasts didn't matter, only the present and future would matter to them. They were an order that based themselves around vigilance. In order to be vigilant against any Darkspawn uprising, your previous life had to leave you completely. To think he was condemned to such a lousy lifestyle… it upset him somewhat.

"So… We've quite some time until sundown when I expect they'll have supper. What shall we do?" Darrian asked, looking over at the Warden-Commander with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I was thinking perhaps we could watch some training in action?"

"Ah, pardon me, friend, but when it comes time to oversee the sparring sessions I'd prefer you stay with Elissa Cousland. I'm sure Bryce would agree, actually, as she is one to get into trouble if unsupervised." Duncan replied with a smile, "Though she doesn't care if she's being watched while getting into trouble. I'm sure you wouldn't mind."

"Actually, I do. I want to see action, to see how these noblemen are trained to fight. I do not, however, want to babysit." The young elf protested.

Duncan laughed, "If you truly think that you are babysitting her, Darrian, you will be mistaken. You'll be chasing her. Just make sure you two don't stray too far from the castle. Such a thing would not be good, especially with all that is going on in this world right now."

"Ugh, whatever you say. Just as long as she doesn't treat me like a slave I'll be fine with her." The elf huffed, closing the cupboards and heading upstairs to the bedrooms.

The young Tabris was dreading 'chasing' that girl, whoever she was, as much as he was looking forward to it. It would definitely prove itself to be interesting; chasing after a noblewoman without having guards chasing after him. Last time he tried following nobility, he ended up with a slap on his wrists if a spiked chain could qualify as a 'slap'. He still had the marks to prove it. Then again, from what he had gathered from Aedan, the Couslands were rather open minded when it came to elves. As long as they acted honorably, which would be no issue with Darrian. Even he had to admit that not many elves acted with honor.

He entered a room right to the left when he reached the top of the stairs. It was a somewhat large room, with a dresser, desk, bed, and even a small table with two chairs he guessed were used to eat small and private meals. The desk even had a mirror on it. Never before had he seen such rich housing. The bed itself looked comfortable compared to his old bunk bed he shared with his father. The young elf fell onto the bed and let out a loud hiss of appeasement. The bed felt so soft and welcoming under him.

"Well, Darrian, I believe you just found a good way to pass the time…" He mumbled to himself, closing his eyes and wondering what they would have for supper. They were feasting with nobility, after all, something he had never done before in his entire life.

* * *

**Time: 21:30 Hours**

_"We Wardens aren't really permitted to have any relations outside of the friendships we forge with others of our kind. No lovers, no children, no family. Hell, we can't even really dedicate ourselves to ourselves. We dedicate ourselves to our goals, our duties as Grey Wardens. We fight the enemies of civilization. Whether it be from within civilization itself or the Darkspawn. Though it is nearly always the Darkspawn, unless some rowdy bunch decides to try and work with forces beyond the skillsets of Templars or soldiers." Shadow mumbled to Lyna, his tone very serious and calm. _

_"But, why is it so limited? Why can't we have families?" The Dalish woman asked._

_Shadow huffed, "Say you and I were a couple, and we were dispatched on a mission that involved taking on the Darkspawn in order to save the farm of an elderly couple. Would you have it in your heart to let me go for the sake of the innocents, or would you have it in your heart to save the one you love?" He asked._

_"I... I..." She stammered, why of all things, was **that** his example?!_

_The Warden nodded. "That is why the Grey Wardens prefer not to have relations. Whilst we are out to protect each other, innocent lives come before all else. In the time you thought about your decision, both myself and the elderly couple have already been slaughtered by our foe." _

_"That's harsh!" Lyna grumbled in frustration._

_"That's fact." Shadow replied with a sigh._

* * *

"So why aren't you in the dining hall with your companion?" Elissa, a young seventeen year old woman with long reddish-blonde hair asked Darrian as they walked through the grassy plains that surrounded Castle Cousland.

Darrian chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "If I am to tell you the truth, my Lady, I am under orders to accompany you tonight."

She looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, curiosity coursing through her quite visibly. "And who ordered this? My father, or your companion?"

"Both." He responded rather hastily. "According to Duncan, your father didn't trust you to be alone and Duncan then ordered me to accompany you. I can't say I mind the assignment, however, as you are rather good company."

Elissa scoffed as they continued to walk, "He is just too protective. I got ambushed by bandits last year. Ever since, he's been freaking out about my safety... I even killed those who ambushed me!"

Darrian bit his lip in thought, so she could fight? Impressive, given the fact her body structure didn't really suggest that much. She was rather tiny compared to Darrian or Duncan, and that was saying something as elves are usually built to be fast, and agile. Though Darrian wasn't like other elves, and actually preferred strength as much as agility. Elissa caught his gaze as he was examining her, and he quickly looked away to try and act as if he hadn't been stealing glances at her.

"Oh, please don't tell me you're one of those elves." She teased.

"Of... Of course not! I'm a Grey Warden recruit, even if I was one of 'those' elves, it wouldn't matter. Grey Wardens can't have families, nor normal and peaceful lives, really. We're doomed to constantly fight the Darkspawn." Darrian said, his voice rather heavy as if he was holding something back.

"Well, aren't you jumpy." She giggled, "I just can't believe he trusts my life in the hands of an elf... not to be offensive to you." Elissa said. "I've no quarrel with your kind, in fact, I know plenty of good elves. It's just that... well, put simply, when I was one year of age an elvish assassin from Antiva killed my aunt. Zevran, our investigator said his name was. Up until Aedan and his mentor became a thing, my father trusted no elf with no human's life just because one elf killed his sister." She explained hastily so he didn't get the wrong idea about her.

Darrian frowned though nodded as he understood what she meant now. They walked in silence for awhile. The only noises that were heard were the rustling of the grass and leaves, wildlife, and even the shore that was not too far away. They were in the grassland that separated the woods and Bannorn from the shore of the Waking Sea.

He finally spoke up, "I can understand that. Unfortunately many of my kind are as bad if not worse than the humans when it comes to racism. Some of us are just belligerents who think that killing will send the humans a clear message."

"Thank you for understanding," Elissa said softly, "Like I said, I'm really not hateful of your people. I hate members of your kind like I hate members of my own. I am unlike many other nobles, Ser Darrian, I think equality is the road to go. Poor, or rich. Human, or elf... it matters not. We are all equal. We all bleed the same, eat the same, drink the same."

"I'd be weary of what you call your... or our equals, Darkspawn bleed and more than likely eat and drink as well." Darrian chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Oh stop it, smart one." Elissa said with a quiet laugh.

She was busy quietly thinking through the situation she was currently in. Never before had she ever had company on her little journeys as everyone was always busy doing their own thing. Her brothers trained or partied with the soldiers. Her father had a land to run, people to govern. Her mother was busy taking care of both her brothers and father. Whilst this man, this elf, was under strict orders to just accompany her. She couldn't help but feel joy in his company.

Darian chuckled as he heard her laugh. "So, tell me more of this 'breach' your brother told me about. I am most curious."

"Oh, some bandits or whatever just wounded our men, broke into our vault and stole an old rusty metal relic in the shape of a dragon's skull." Elissa said with a shrug, "I never knew why we bothered keeping it locked up so tight. The thing was just a useless old piece of rubbish."

"I hope you are right… if it had some importance and got into the dirty hands of thieves… I fear for the future." Darrian said with a small sigh.

She nodded slowly, "Well, if I am to be completely honest, I am not entirely sure of the origin of that relic. All I know is that the Couslands have protected it for countless years, since before my great grandfather, in fact. There used to be a writ that was in the vault with it. However, I believe either my father or grandfather moved it out of the vault."

"Shall we go to the beach, my lady? See the sunset on the sea." The elf asked with a small smile on his face.

"My, Ser Tabris, that almost sounds romantic of you. Surely that isn't your intent? I'm a _completely_ innocent lady." The young woman with fiery blonde hair said.

"Of course not! I just would like to see the sunset, and since I am tasked with watching over you, I figure we could see it together." He replied as he cleared his throat.

She giggled before leading him towards the shoreline. Despite not actually admitting or showing it, she liked the idea of seeing the sunset with someone. It was difficult to see nature properly behind the walls of the Castle. The issue with getting out was that her father's men always caught her, usually due to Aedan's assistance. Sometimes the young lady swore her brother just didn't want to see her happy. In her heart, she knew that he was only watching after her whilst also throwing a bit of brotherly love into her life. Fergus, on the other hand, he had other ways of showing her that he cared. Such as persuading people, much like their father, to let her get away with things easier than she normally would.

An hour had passed and the sunset had long since vanished over the horizon, yet still the two remained on the shore. Why they did, neither of them knew. Neither of them really cared. To them, it felt like a peaceful place to be. It felt as if they had managed to avoid their sworn duties whilst they were on the shore together.

"There they are! Seize them!" A harsh voice tore them from their peaceful state.

Immediately reacting to this, Darrian swooped up and drew the sword Duncan had given him just in case trouble happened to cross his path. Trouble like the large group of men that stood before them. Closer inspection through the darkness revealed them to be Howe's men. That could only mean one thing...

"Duncan was right...!" Darrian growled, "Elissa, stay back, I have this under control."

The girl chuckled before shaking her head slowly, "No, I'll help you. Wait... what?!" She exclaimed looking over at the castle, which had smoke rising from it.

Immediately she had tried to run to the castle to find and save her family, but Darrian stopped her right in her tracks by wrapping his one arm around her and pulling her into his body. He could understand where she was coming from, as he had kind of been in a similar position as her back in Denerim. Unfortunately, his logic and orders forbade him to allow her the same vengeance he had taken into his own hands. At least for the moment. The elf had a feeling that no matter what would happened there that night would not go without revenge for long. The Couslands were known for always avenging the deaths of their kin, and as pessimistic as it may have sounded, with an army that size the Couslands within the castle walls no doubt died. Unless, of course, they found Duncan just in time to be saved.

"Not right now, Elissa. We've more pressing matters to attend to. You head back into that castle, you're dead. Understand? They will kill you without hesitation." Darrian warned her with a sigh. "I'll take you to Lothering. Duncan told me that is where all of the recruits for the Grey Wardens are meeting up. He is still inside that castle, and if he is alive, that is where he will take your family and any survivors he can. Trust me."

The two of them unknowingly allowed the soldiers to surround them. Four of them closed in to try and take hold of the two, however, by that time both Darrian and Elissa were alerted to their presence. Armor wasn't exactly the most quietest thing in the world, especially plate and mail. Darrian sprung into action and quickly engaged the four men in combat. He was fast, much faster than the human soldiers. They were wearing traditional plate armor and no doubt had been assigned to front line combat. Why they were out near the shore was an question beyond the young elf, but he had hardly the time to analyze anything other than their armor for weak points. Having seen the make of the armor being nothing more than the common plate, he immediately saw the weaknesses. It hadn't been that long ago since he had killed many guards wearing the same armor. Two of the men found his sword slashing into and through their necks, one of them unfortunately went after Elissa.

Darrian feared for this companion's safety, but his fear was wasted when she drew a dagger. She grabbed the soldier's arm and pulled him towards her, something most would consider reckless, and had she not been quick the man would have stabbed her straight in the gut. Skillfully, however, she prevented this fate by bashing the sword away with her dagger and stabbing it at an angle through the weakness at under the arm. In order for the plate armor to offer mobility and some comfort, there had to be a section without plate where the wearer's armpit was. Otherwise, it'd just make their arms ache and restrict their movement more than it already was. Generally, when heavily armored opponents were present, it meant that they were very powerful but at the expense of reduced mobility. They could take somewhat more damage than normal soldiers, and deliver fatal blows should they manage to get a hit in with their weapons. But they were countered easily by skillful and agile opponents; exactly what Elissa herself trained to be.

"What are you lot standing around for?! Help me!" The remaining man called out before getting kicked onto his back, another unfavorable position for plated men. On their backs, they were in the same predicament as turtles.

Darrian quickly finished the man off, recovering just in time to deal with his remaining comrades. In truth, the 'remaining' forces were more or less the original force of at least twenty now. Four had been killed, but both Darrian and Elissa were still outnumbered. It'd be a true test of their skills to get out of their current situation alive. Either that, or luck. But Darrian didn't believe in luck, as he felt he could only ever rely on himself to get something done right. Not some unseen force of the world. The fight began, and even in the starting stages it proved to be tiring.

The two went against all kinds of opponents. Howe must have really wanted them dead, it was either that or they were very unlucky. If Darrian had to choose, he would have picked both. The fight had dragged on, and it pushed both Elissa and Darrian onto the defensive. Whilst they had to strike back in order to thin their ranks before they themselves weakened, there were so many that they had to primarily focus on surviving each of the soldiers' blows. It got to the point they were literally back to back in order to avoid getting surprised. At that time, they had added six new corpses to the body count.

"Things aren't looking good, Ser Darrian..." Elissa huffed, hastily deflecting and skillfully riposting one of the soldiers. Luckily enough, it was enough to finish the lightly armored man off.

Darrian growled, kicking his own attacker back into the others. "I am in the same situation as you; I can see that." He replied before cleaving the head off of a soldier's body. "We need to finish these fools hastily and make our exit."

"That would be great, if my family wasn't still trapped inside the castle!" Elissa retorted before blocking an attack.

"Your family is probably dead by now, Elissa, we don't have the time nor the resources to go into the castle to look for them. We'd get caught and executed." The elf said smoothly before running his blade straight into the throat of a soldier.

"And what would you have us do?! Grow wings and fly?!" The Lady asked, growing very impatient and agitated.

"There is a forest on your doorstep, we'll run into it. With the cover of night, no one would be able to follow us unless we let someone in this group survive." Darrian reasoned before headbutting a lightly armored man, quickly cutting him down.

The fight continued on for a few more minutes until it came down to their final opponent. With their minor wounds aching and their entire bodies exhausted, they pooled their energy and took him on as a team. Darrian cleaved the veteran's legs out from under him, and as the man fell, Elissa quickly slammed her dagger down into his screaming mouth. She ripped the weapon from the man's mouth and stood up, both her and Darrian panting heavily from their fight. Darrian was soaked in blood that was not his own, but he had a few good cuts on him from the battle. He was not equipped to fight a battle like that. At least, he wasn't yet. He still had his wedding clothes on, and whilst that may have worked for the guards the men there were trained to kill. Not protect.

"So the woods, yeah?" Elissa asked.

"Yes. Let's go before more arrive." Darrian said before rushing towards her, taking her hand and leading her hastily towards the cover of the trees and wildlife. Whilst wildlife itself was dangerous, he would rather take his chances with the wild and the Dalish than with an army laying siege to a castle. He just hoped Duncan and the Couslands made it out okay.

**Time: 22:00 Hours**

_"Whilst we Wardens are able to act freely when out in the field, we are all trained in what to do. Whilst not all situations will grant you the ability to carry out our teachings, it is good for you to have a guideline." Shadow told Lyna as he stared into the fire. "Our topic for right now will be recruitment. If you are ever assigned to go out and find recruits for our Order, you are to remain neutral and observe for a brief period of time. Should you find what you are looking for, you can approach them and ask them to join us. You are offered two courses of action from the start. The simplest one is simply requesting they join. In the event they say no and we are desperate, or they are in trouble with the law of the land, you have an ace up your sleeve that any and all members of civilization must accept; The Rite of Conscription. If the person is about to be executed, you hold the right to be able to rush up and stop it, demanding that he be placed under your watch and care so that he can become a Grey Warden and find his death fighting Darkspawn and the other threats we face." _

_Lyna's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" _

_The Warden nodded, "Indeed. Continuing on, our neutrality whilst recruiting should remain a priority. However, there are times that direct intervention is necessary. For instance, if you have multiple recruits and you must only pick one, you observe them in intense scenarios. Whether artificial or genuine, though you may ever act to assist them in any way. There are two exceptions to this rule. One being if the Darkspawn are involved. When recruiting, you are generally not going to send your recruits up against Darkspawn that early in. You can, but that's a bit harsh. This scenario is one you may act on in order to help them out. The second is if their lives are legitimately in danger. For instance, the invasion example from earlier." _

_"What about if both scenarios happen?" She asked with interest._

_"Then I hope you brought a lot of energy and skill with you on your recruitment mission." Shadow replied, turning his head to look her straight in the eyes._

* * *

"Hold the line, men! Don't let them breach the main hall!" Ser Gilmore called out as the guards rushed to ensure the door did not get pushed open. It was no simple task as they only had ten men to hold back what was likely an entire army.

The young gentleman turned and addressed Duncan and Aedan. "My Lord, Warden-Commander. What brings you two here, I thought you'd have used the secret tunnel by now?" He asked.

Aedan shook his head, "No, we were looking for anyone in need of help whilst searching for my parents."

"Ah, well your parents headed for the tunnel. Though I can't guarantee they made it. Both of them ordered me to stay here and hold this position with all of the men I could get. I had some patrol the streets, but still, somehow Howe's men keep on getting behind our lines of defense and I fear that unless something is done we will be surrounded and lose the castle." Gilmore said with worry.

Aedan nodded and sighed before looking at Duncan. "We can't let that happen."

The Warden-Commander nodded as he stroked his mustache. "You are right about that, but... I don't think we will be able to. Ser Gilmore, how many men do we have at the ready?"

"Thirty battle hardened men in this hall, ten injured but capable of fighting if needed, and anyone else still fighting on the streets." The Knight informed the two of them.

Aedan's face lit up, "How many does Howe have?" He asked quickly.

"The first report we got from the wall? He has around one hundred able fighters. It's only a section of his forces, our scouts say the rest continued their march to Ostagar, most likely to avoid suspicion." The man replied with a shrug, "Why?"

"Or Denerim..." Duncan muttered to himself, "Because, Ser Gilmore, this brilliant young man is forming a strategy."

Aedan nodded before moving over to the table, Gilmore and Duncan both following to see what he had in mind. "Alright, so this is the layout of the entire castle. You say they have one hundred men, which means that they are trying to capture our castle quick and clean. **But**, if they only have one hundred or so men here, that would mean that they couldn't possibly risk sending them all in at once, not to mention our courtyard is not large enough to support that many men. Especially if their plan is to siege the castle. We have thirty men here, forty including the wounded and who knows how many of the active garrison still fighting. We're inside a castle, it's meant to resist siege with less men than preferred.

If we have some men stay back to hold the doors whilst we all get situated outside of this hall, they'll have no choice but to funnel their way to us. We could lead them back towards my home, that way they have only one way to progress rather than three. It's a choke point and I believe we have the manpower to pull this off."

A whooshing sound was heard and it alerted all of the men to its sudden and unexplained occurrence. Everyone turned to the center of the room save for those who were holding the door. What they saw was terrifying. A strange anomaly with a purple outline and dark core appeared, and from it emerged multiple ghostly whispers. Duncan growled and narrowed his eyes. He sensed Darkspawn.

"A very good plan indeed, young Cousland. Though, I am afraid it is for nothing." A feminine voice spoke, "Arl Rendon Howe will become the new master of this castle, and you will become an exile with all of the others whom this Grey Warden seeks. You are smart, however, and there is no such thing as a single-path choice. Step through this portal and join me before we slaughter your friends. Or, die with them either now or later."

As the woman finished her proposition, multiple large Hurlocks stepped through the portal. Duncan recognized their markings instantly, as well as their abnormal appearance compared to other Darkspawn. The Logosha. Immediately the guards that were available rushed to attack the Darkspawn and close their portal, but they proved more of a threat than the guards had originally anticipated. The lady behind the portal simply giggled.

"Your subconscious decision speaks for itself. A true decision is not based off of thought, at least one that is out of necessity or desire. Fight well, Cousland. I know we will meet again. Our fates are intertwined. Logosha, kill them all. Leave none alive, unless you manage to get your hands on the young Lord." The woman concluded before the portal vanished, leaving ten Darkspawn behind.

They roared loudly, and what had once been defensive fighting on their part turned into an offensive frenzy. The guards, having not expected such an immediate change in posture, were overwhelmed and suffered heavy casualties. What was once thirty men dropped to seventeen. Nearly half of them were killed in the span of five minutes. That was not good. During the fight, Aedan noticed that the men holding the door were beginning to lose strength.

"Gilmore! Take whoever is available and hold the door, Duncan and I will take care of these Darkspawn scum!" Aedan commanded, quickly killing the Logosha that was attacking Ser Gilmore.

"Right away!" Gilmore said before grabbing two guards and rushing over to assist in holding Howe's army back.

What was supposed to be a rather peaceful night before Bryce Cousland left turned out to be a night from the Black City itself. Howe would pay for all he had done. Treachery was not something any of the Couslands took lightly, and Howe would soon find that out personally. The Logosha were strong, but soon only four remained. Though at that time, only ten of the guards were able to fight them.

"We need to hold this position for as long as we can! Ser Gilmore, keep those doors shut!" Aedan called out as he bashed a Darkspawn in the face with his shield, knocking it down to the ground where he quickly ran it through with his sword.

"Understood, Lord Cousland!" The knight replied, pushing against the door as best he could.

Duncan quickly engaged one of the three remaining Darkspawn, killing it but not switching to the nearest threat in time. This costed the remaining men their lives as the large Hurlock cleaved through all ten of them with unimaginable strength.

"Shit!" Aedan roared, quickly cutting the Logosha warrior's legs.

The Darkspawn fell, but before his back hit the ground Aedan quickly slashed again to decapitate it. This was a successful maneuver and the Darkspawn was no more. He finished just in time to see Duncan deliver a series of vicious stabs and slices, eventually ended it by tearing out the Darkspawn's throat. The creature fell backwards and a pool of blood formed under it. The Warden-Commander turned around and let out a loud huff, panting heavily.

"Aedan, we just lost the entire garrison, there is no way we are able to fall back and hold Howe's men. The siege has been successful, I need to get you out of here before the Couslands lose a son." Duncan said with a sigh.

"I'm not leaving my men behind. We fight together, we die together. That is the pact I've made with them." Aedan protested, turning to face the injured men. "Quick, all of you who can stand and hold themselves. I want you over to that door, helping keep it s-" He began to order before a loud crash was heard.

Debris from the doors as well as the men holding it went flying into the grand hall. "Howe has breached the door!" One of the guards called out, the injured men and women getting their weapons ready. "Hold them back! Protect Lord Cousland!"

Gilmore quickly got up to his feet along with the survivors of the blast, engaging the overwhelming force in combat. "Too late..." Duncan sighed before readying his weapons and rushing in to lend some aid.

Aedan followed the Warden-Commander. This would be their final stand against the invading forces. The Cousland guards were well trained, which was more than most nobles could say about their guards. They knew discipline, they knew that their orders came before the preservation of their lives. The battle that followed was long and bloody. Halfway through Aedan ordered the men to fall back to the choke point he had come up with earlier, and they successfully did so. They only lost four men since the door was breached, and Howe's siege was coming to a quick end. The strategy proved to work. An hour later, only thirty five men remained, though Howe's men signaled a retreat. They left ten behind to cover the retreat of the twenty five others.

Soon only five remained, and Ser Gilmore quickly slaughtered one of the soldiers. The man had exposed himself in an attempt to do a powerful overhead strike. The second Gilmore went after quickly got cut down by both him and Aedan. Duncan himself, however, used his sword and dagger to dispatch two of the soldiers simultaneously. The remaining one quickly dropped his weapons and threw his arms up in the air.

"I surrender! I surrender! Please, in the name of the Maker have mercy on me!" He cried out. "I have a wife, kids... please don't..."

Duncan did nothing but sheathe his weapons, and Ser Gilmore did the same. Aedan, however, approached the man until he was face to face with him. He shook his head, a look of disgust on his face.

"So too did the countless men you and your comrades have slaughtered. You call yourself a soldier, die like one." He ordered before kicking the man onto his back and quickly stomping on his head to finish him off.

Duncan looked at the execution expressionless and Ser Gilmore simply looked away. "Brutal, but efficient." He said tiredly, "Maker... I don't want to think about how many we've lost."

"Not as much as you would think, Ser." Duncan said as he spotted several of Howe's men rushing back to them. They were cut down by arrows, and shortly after a large group of Cousland soldiers were seen marching through the streets.

When they arrived, their leader saluted Aedan who simply looked at the man with tired eyes. "My Lord Cousland, I apologize we didn't make it back here earlier. We all saw the smoke and headed back, gathering up and pushing in to the castle. We see that you have taken care of the attackers, however."

"Were there any survivors?" Aedan asked weakly as he thought about all who had died.

"Plenty, my Lord. Though we have many to bury, I don't think we've lost too many. Howe, that bastard, a lot of the corpses we've seen were either our men taken by surprise or innocent men and women." The man said with a groan. "What are your orders, my Lord?"

Aedan shook his head. "I want men manning the walls. I want to know if so much as a messenger appears at our gates. I want patrols running through the entire castle searching for survivors and wounded. If they are with Howe, put them down. My mother and father must be found as well. Set up very small patrols to watch over our lands, and for those old enough to fight; conscript them, arm them, train them, and have them ready for war." He ordered.

"Understood, my Lord. I'll go to the grand hall and take care of all of that." The soldier replied.

Duncan nodded, "I will go with him, if you have no need of me at the moment, Lord Cousland. I should dispose of the Darkspawn corpses properly before they do damage. Ser Gilmore, I want you to rest up. You have proven your worth to me as a Grey Warden, and would like to know if you still wished to become one of us. Don't worry, Aedan, I will keep watch as well. I know that you probably do not want to become a Grey Warden any longer due to your new duties. Get some rest, you deserve it. Not to mention you look very ill."

Aedan nodded slowly, turning and heading back up to where it all had began for him. He opened the door and slowly made his way inside, but saw a sickening sight. "NO!" He shouted, rushing over to a gathering of corpses.

Hearing the scream from outside, both Ser Gilmore and Duncan redirected themselves and rushed into the home of the Teyrn. Their eyes widened at what they saw. The bodies of the Teyrn, Teyrna, Oren and Oriana. Their bodies were placed so they made a triangle with Bryce in the center of it. Implanted in his chest was a corrupted sword. Darkspawn in origin. Aedan had broken down crying at Oren's side, and Duncan took a step forward.

"The symbol of the Logosha." He muttered.

"We are done... for now... We will meet again, Aedan. Enjoy my gift to you..." A quiet whisper said, audible to everyone in the room. It was a chilling voice, feminine and somewhat dead if dead were a sound.

"Gift? Gift?! How is this a gift?!" Aedan questioned loudly before realizing that he was solely in charge of the castle and its forces. Fergus was deployed, Elissa either dead or far away from there. He was the Lord of Castle Cousland now, and he was in charge of making sure the castle was repaired, their forces replenished and prepared for another fight. A larger fight.

* * *

_Shadow placed a hand on Lyna's shoulder. "You see, our enemy will attempt to get into your head. At least, the Logosha will. They play with us like we are the pieces on a chess board. The rest of the Darkspawn and all of the bad people on one side, civilization on the other. If they see you as valuable, they will break you and start to drive you mad. We don't know who leads them, but we do know that in their higher circles are a bunch of men and women who have various roles. They are often the ones that will tempt even the most honorable of us, leading them into a corrupt path." He informed her, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "That's another reason we Wardens do not form relationships in the common sense. The Darkspawn, or any enemy, would exploit that fact and compromise our duties." _

_Lyna nodded slowly, "I just... I hope that we have people out there that can resist the temptations and threats. Otherwise... our job is a lot harder and more likely to fail." _

_"Don't worry," Shadow chuckled, "Just look at me. The demon from my story, it wasn't the only thing that tried to get my loyalty. The Logosha as they are now have not quite mastered the art of successful temptation, or threats. They only lead a person to want to kill them all. They make more enemies than they do allies, using death to influence people. Now, that concludes our conversation." He said as he stood up and walked over to his bed. _

_"Get some rest, Lyna. We're going to be busy tomorrow." _


	11. Prologue - Chapter 8

_Chapter 8: Shadow's Negotiation Class_

**Time: 05:00 Hours**

**Location: Outskirts of Lothering**

* * *

Shadow slowly led all of the Warden recruits out into the distant outskirts of Lothering for their fighting lesson. In truth, it wasn't training as much as it was a mere sparring session so the Warden could size them all up. When they reached the clearing he stopped and turned to face the group, crossing his arms as his judging gaze crossed over each and every one of them. He was pitting them up against each other, but not in a wild free for all. Not yet, at least.

"Mahariel, Brosca, Aeducan, step forward." He ordered.

The dwarves quickly followed his order, whilst Lyna took a more cautious step forward. "Amell, Surana, step back." He ordered again and the mages did so quickly.

"Those of you who have stepped forward are going to be fighting each other. Not to the death, but to submission. Remember, submission is equal to death in this sparring session so make sure it's the last thing you do and only if you must." He informed them and the dwarves simply nodded. "Those who stepped back, the same thing applies. Though you get the luxury of an endurance test. I will not go easy on you, I want you to know that."

"We understand, Warden." Daylen said with a small smile, "We wouldn't have it any other way."

"Remember, there is no teaming up in this. We are in pairs of three, fighting each other. At least, the dwarves and elf will be. You and Neria will be doing something different with me. As I have said, I shall test your endurance, how many powerful spells you can cast and such." Shadow spoke has he crossed his arms. "Now, you two line up behind me. We are going to observe their fight first before we begin your trial."

Neria and Daylen made their way behind Shadow, turning to watch the fight that was about to go down. Lyna, Duran, and Natia were in a line with their weapons at the ready. They were waiting for their orders; how Shadow wanted them placed before they came to a collision. Both of the dwarves looked at Lyna with a rather confident expression on their faces, and the elf glared back. Sure, Shadow said that there'd be no real teaming up, but that didn't mean he would stop them if they tried. Part of being a Warden was temporarily aligning yourself with a group of people occasionally. Wardens couldn't always face their foes alone, and Lyna's discussion with Shadow the night before only told her that he saw this as an advantage and necessity to be taught.

"Get in a triangle formation, each of you forming a point. I want you spread out pretty far. Then when I order it, I want the sparring session to begin. Understood? Remember, it is imperative that you know that submission in this course means you have died in your fight against your foe. It is the last thing you want to do, even if you are bleeding or injured. If you are injured or bleeding, you have three mages at the ready to heal you." The Warden informed them once again.

"Three? There are only two mages here, lad." Duran said eyeing both Daylen and Neria.

"I am a mage as well, Duran." Shadow replied.

"Oh."

"Now, get into your positions recruits. We do not have all day; this is only one activity we will be performing and it will last until noon." The Warden said with a smirk behind his helmet.

The three of them got into the formation they were ordered to, and their signal was Shadow firing a bolt of electricity straight into the ground. Immediately the dwarves charged not for each other, but Lyna. The elf had seen that coming before it even had occurred. They made it painfully obvious what their intent was. She just hoped that they weren't foolish enough to assume that they had her by surprise. It required a special kind of skill to surprise an elf in combat, especially one of the Dalish. She charged forward as well, but right as they were about to clash she performed a flip over them and as she landed she pushed them both forward onto their faces. This enraged Duran, and he quickly got up to swing his axe wildly like a crazed maniac. Lyna, of course, avoided this but at the expense of focusing on Duran alone. That proved to be a problem, as Neria quickly tossed a knife that stabbed right into Lyna's thigh. The elf let out a sharp hiss before quickly finding an opening and kicking Duran square in the face. With an 'oof' the dwarf fell to the ground.

Lyna tore the knife out but not in time to stop Neria who had thrown her entire weight against the elf. This toppled the woman over onto her back and offered Duran the time needed to help pin her down and deliver a brutal beating to her. Well, that was if the elf hadn't slammed her head against Neria's, disorienting the dwarf just long enough to push her off.

"Damn it, Brosca!" Duran growled as he quickly moved to knock Lyna unconscious.

Instead, the elf quickly grabbed his arm and ripped him straight towards the slowly recovering Neria. The dwarves slammed together and Neria pushed Duran off of her. By the time she had gotten up, Lyna drew her bow and arrow firing two arrows in rapid succession to pin Duran, the most apparent threat, to the ground for the duration of the fight. Not to mention the dwarf noble required some time to recover. Since both he and Neria had teamed up, the act that had happened forced Shadow to allow him to stay in the fight. He had time to recover, unless of course Neria was rendered useless as well. The female dwarf roared and charged at Lyna, only to get pushed back by the impact of two arrows fired at the same time. The dwarf ignored this, however, and continued her attack. Soon Lyna was forced to drop her bow and draw her sword again. She quickly fought to defend herself, though the force of the Dwarf forced her to trip and fall. Duran who had recently freed himself from the arrows rushed up and placed his axe so the sharpened blade of it was pressing against Lyna's neck. Then he quickly bashed Neria off of the woman and did the same to her.

"Enough!" Shadow called out and the recruits all fell down to take a seat on the ground, especially the dwarves who were bleeding from their own foolish assault on Lyna.

He walked over and offered Lyna a hand up, which she took gratefully and sighed once she felt her weight supported on her legs. Her body was sore from the dwarves and exertion she put on herself to try and overcome them. The dwarves, well, they were exhausted from their own exertion and the fact they had gotten banged up by Lyna. Their egos were very sore due to getting tossed about by an elf of all things.

"You fought well," Shadow whispered to Lyna before releasing her hand and walking back to the mages. "You all fought well, though your strategies all were a bit flawed. Duran, in a fight against the Darkspawn you will not betray your allies. Though they may betray you. You will not fight with your enemy even if you share a common enemy, thus the damage you took was a risk that would have costed you your life by the time you got pinned to the dirt. Neria, your disregard to damage is admirable. The fact you went easy on Duran and didn't raise a hand to strike him, however, means that you costed yourself and anyone who happened to be following you their lives. Lyna, you were in close combat. Unless you are being aided by someone to keep them at bay, never draw your bow. It is too compromising. I believe you found that out here today." He scolded all of them.

"Understood, lad." Duran said with a loud sigh before falling onto his back.

Neria shook her head and did the same as Duran whilst Lyna remained silent, only a small smirk appearing on her face. "Now, Daylen and Natia, your first goal is to heal and rejuvenate them. Your second goal will to hold your strongest spell for as long as you can before you tire out, without hurting yourselves. Go."

With their orders having been laid out before them, the mages got to work under the supervision of Shadow. Whilst he was focusing on the mages and their abilities, Lyna was busy considering why Shadow was acting nice to her. Before he seemed rather careless, but ever since their discussion that lasted until midnight the night before he had seemingly softened in her presence. Perhaps he was showing her the last bit of kindness she'd see before the long battle against the Darkspawn in Ostagar began. Perhaps it was something more. Whatever his intentions, he caught her spacing out and immediately moved to make her regret it.

"Lyna, threeeeeee hundred in... two minutes. Go!" He said somewhat playfully, but mostly sternly.

She groaned out loud before dropping down to her hands and beginning her push-ups. There was no possible way she was going to pull of that many push-ups in two minutes. No way. Especially since he forced her to expel all of her air counting each one she performed.

The two minutes had passed and she only got to one hundred and seventy push-ups. Shadow laughed and clicked his tongue as he watched her collapse to the ground.

"Such a shame, I imagined since you just barely got the three hundred last night in three minutes you could accomplish such a task in two. I guess I was wrong." He teased.

She huffed and laid down on the ground, physically exhausted from her workout. Shadow looked up and saw the mages tiring out from their spellcasting and ended it with a dismissing shout.

"Enough, go back to the village and get some breakfast. Prepare for knowledge lessons. Lyna, come with me." Shadow ordered and the dwarves and mages let out sighs of relief.

The four grouped up and headed back towards Lothering whilst Shadow aided Lyna up once again. "Where to?" She asked.

"Just a longer walk back. I'd like to inform you of what you are about to face, but you have to keep the information I give to you to yourself. It's strictly forbidden to speak of the Joining to you before you pass it." Shadow said as he led her around the bend, which would make their trail into a long 'U'.

Lyna let out a soft sigh, looking up at the fully armored man with a look of curiosity displayed on her face. "So... you're breaking the rules to give me an advantage over the others?" She asked.

"It's no advantage. It's just giving you a heads up on what you will become. The Joining doesn't come without side effects all Wardens face. It isn't even about the first phase, it's about what comes after the Joining that I want you to know." Shadow told her with a sigh, "It's how we sense our foe coming, and can fight them without getting sick like you. How are you feeling, by the way?"

"Good... Though I've had a lot of nausea since we woke up." She replied. Shadow could tell as much, she was much more pale than normal.

He nodded slowly, "We may need to move south and perform the Joining before Duncan and the other recruits get here. I'm not going to risk your life needlessly under my watch." Shadow said as he continued looking forward at the distant village.

"How will the Joining even help me? What does it entail?" She asked.

"Blood magic. It's a ritual that could very well cost you your life. It tests your body, it tests your spirit. We give you a chalice that has been passed down from Warden to Warden, we fill it with the blood you will collect from the Darkspawn, mix it with lyrium and drop a single drop of blood from an Archdemon. Very few survive it, for obvious reasons, and if you do you will forever be tainted by the black blood. More or less, you will be doomed to die earlier rather than later. You see, the pros of it are the fact that we can sense them and that we are immune to further corruption. The cons, however, are the nightmares. You will have a desire to consume any and all food in your sight for at least two weeks, your fertility will drop and your lifespan significantly shortened down to thirty or so years." He informed her as they walked.

Lyna's face fell into an expressionless, stone-like state. Well, her curiosity about why it was kept a secret was discovered now. She didn't have to be confused any longer.

"So, I'll only have thirty years to live after undergoing the Joining?" She asked, completely allowing the fact that he said she'd have to drink Darkspawn blood to pass over her head. "No real chance for children, no peaceful nights?" She asked coldly.

"Yes, not exactly, and it depends. Thirty years is the accepted maximum, not many make it past that. In fact, I've never heard of anyone who has. I said decreased fertility, not complete loss of hope for reproduction. Though, I'd worry about the child's state. As for no peaceful nights, occasionally we don't dream. Those are good days. Lately, however, every Warden has been having nightmares. Because of them, we believe that this is no simple Darkspawn raid. We think this is the beginning of a new Blight." He informed her as they walked, hoping to brighten her mood up a bit. "Around the thirty year mark, usually we get a warning or feeling that our time is about to pass. It is then when we head down into the Deep Roads to fight the Darkspawn 'til we die."

"How long... How long have you been tainted?" She asked.

"Half a year, now. I'm rather new, but strong. I've fought with the Wardens plenty of times before I accepted Duncan's request to join them. It's how he and I became friends, the years prior to my Joining we worked together a lot." Shadow told her with a smile. "He's a good man, his past is as scarred as mine. Used to live a life full of action, now he lives a life full of more dangerous action."

She smiled and looked up to see the village getting closer. In around five more minutes they'd be inside the inn they were staying at.

"If I survive the Joining..." She said, her body somewhat cold due to the thoughts of the future. "Will I be able to remain at your side? Or Duncan's? I... I don't want to be alone for thirty years."

Shadow nodded slowly, "Mahariel, I will be there when you undergo the Joining. I will still be there with you when you pass on. We've two other recruits down in Ostagar as well, we've acquired quite a few potential recruits. Oh, and know that when we arrive for the Joining, there is no turning back. When you get sent to collect the blood, you are stuck. Trying to leave will get you killed."

"As long as you are there, shem." She said with a soft sigh.

* * *

They arrived in the inn which they had cleared out all of the patrons with the Innkeeper's permission. He said they needed a day break anyway to clean and restock, however, he offered to go to the market first in order to give the Wardens some time alone to do whatever it was they had planned. Shadow thanked him and when all was clear, he called all of the recruits down to the main room of the village inn, making sure all were seated and able to look straight at him comfortably. Not that Shadow was a comfortable sight.

"All of you have proven your skills, and your expertise in those skills. Do not think that because you know what you are doing that you cannot improve, however. A mindset like that is a good way to get yourself killed. There is always more to learn." Shadow said in appraisal turned to warning. "Today's topic shall be the art of diplomacy, and negotiation."

Duran grumbled, "What the bleedin' hell do Wardens need those for? We fight an' we die, right? No need for pointless talkin' in tha' equation, laddie."

"Actually, there is need for talking, and it is far from pointless, Duran." Shadow replied, "There are times you will need to know what to say, as well as when and how to say it. No matter how strong you are, there is always going to be someone holding more power than you. As a Warden, unfortunately, you will be encountering a lot of those people. You can't negotiate with Darkspawn, not even the Logosha who are capable of speech and reasoning. But Darkspawn aren't our only enemies. Often times Lords and Ladies see the opportunity in capturing one of us. You will need to know how to prolong your life just long enough for either escape, or help to arrive."

The dwarf shifted in his seat and let out a soft sigh. As the son of the dwarvish king, he knew all about politics and wordplay. Sure, one could argue that the dwarves were a more brutal and combat oriented people, they were, and he wasn't going to try and deny that fact about his people. But, they also had their fair share of diplomacy among themselves and even other races such as the humans. Especially the humans. Orzammar was the last city of the dwarves, or so everyone had thought. Having been a prince of Orzammar, Duran knew that diplomacy with other races and even the Grey Wardens themselves proved most essential to their survival. Trading, negotiations, alliances, all of it had to be done in order to keep Orzammar from falling to the Darkspawn and still it was only a matter of time. The Blight may allow them to push into the Deep Roads and claim fallen territory, but the Darkspawn would be back. No matter the outcome of the Blight. That meant each foot of land they gained, was a foot of land they would lose again.

"I won't lie to you, diplomacy is hard to do when your captors want you dead or tortured. But, the art of diplomacy is to get them to have it your way. The art is there to make it so you live long enough, or you gain something of importance. All your parents have taught you when you were young to use some form of manners, use them when in the face of nobility. You are to address them not as equals but as their rank suggests. If they are a Teyrn, Your Lordship should suffice. If they are a Knight, Ser will do just fine." Shadow said.

"What do we call you?" Natia asked.

"A good question, though the answer is far from what you imagined it would be. I am not your superior, you will either call me Warden, Shadow, or whatever you wish to call me. Just know that I have more experience than all of you combined, and if you fail to listen to me you could very well end up suffering or dead." He said, slashing his hand through the air dismissively. "That is not a threat, that is a warning. Everything I tell you to do, you should do it. Everything I teach you, you should remember it. These things that I bring up to you have costed the lives of many good men and women, who died because of their ignorance."

Everyone kept on looking at him and nodded to signal that they understood what he was saying. He had seen it before, that much he hadn't lied about. Men and women acting as if it were just some kind of joke. His teachings were there to make sure that they all knew what they would be facing on a day to day basis. Shadow saw what was coming, and he knew that there would be no time for rest after they reached Ostagar. There would be no stopping, to stop even for a brief moment would mean they had risked the lives of everyone on Thedas. To stop only of necessity, and not out of temporary exhaustion. That would be their rule. That is why they needed to be ready.

"The next topic we are going to talk about is negotiations. With the art of diplomacy, the art of negotiation works well. However, negotiations are not always meant to be taken out in a calm and timely manner. There will come a time, of that I have no doubt, where each and every one of you are going to need something and you are going to need it right that instant. If you don't get it, then something bad surely will happen. This is one of the few occasions when it is alright to show some violent... insistence. Get them to realize that they need to act, or something bad will happen to them. Do not imply that you will harm them, but make sure they know that if they ignore you their lives will crumble." Shadow said, suddenly approaching the table and slamming his hands down onto it making almost all of them jump. The odd one out who didn't jump was Duran, and instead he just tensed up. "Don't be afraid to do that to get your audience's attention. It is effective, as each and every one of you can tell."

He then backed up and moved over to where he was prior to the outburst. "Always, and I mean **always** request meetings to be done **not** inside of their castle or headquarters when you are alone. Sometimes you cannot help it, but know that if you are in their territory you must play by their rules respectfully. Otherwise, you're going to get yourself thrown into the dungeons and you will be alone. We won't be able to help you without starting a diplomatic incident and getting our Order banned from Ferelden once again. So, just don't do it. Dismissed. Don't forget to train with your selected partner throughout the day. I don't care how experienced or capable you are, a blade is only good if it is kept sharp." He said just as the innkeeper got back.

He turned around and nodded at the man, "Thank you for allowing us to borrow your inn." Shadow said before walking outside to go get some more fresh air. Alone.

Lyna watched him and bit her lip, trying to think if she should follow the man or not. She decided that she had bothered him enough for one day, and walked up the stairs to their room to lay down. She wasn't feeling too good. Her body was numb due to being cold, but she was sweating as if she were burning up with a fever. If the young elf didn't know any better, she'd say her symptoms were a side effect of being exposed to the tainted blood of the Darkspawn. That didn't mean anything good. She shut the door and fell onto her bed, and just like that it was like lights-out for her. She saw nothing but darkness as she passed over into the realm known as the Fade, where dreams, spirits, and demons roamed.

* * *

_Chapter 8.5: Not Now_

**_Time: 02:34 Hours_**

**Location: Various**

* * *

Shadow sat at the desk in his and Lyna's room, writing a letter in the dim candlelight as he occasionally looked over at the elf. She was sweating pretty bad, but felt cold to the touch. He sighed and quickly finished his mug of honey mead, his writing now hastening.

_Duncan, _

_I know you have requested that I gather the recruits to train and watch over them in this village. However, Lyna's condition has worsened in the few days that we've been here, and I fear that if I do not get her down to Ostagar for her joining immediately that she will not make it another day. I've been observing her throughout the day, she passed out after our noon lessons and has been asleep ever since. Her vitals appear to be fine, and her body functioning as it should. I've already prepared our things, I am going to carry her all the way to Ostagar tonight. I'm leaving this letter with Daylen, as he's the only one that is awake in the late hours of the night and I trust him a bit more than the others. I don't know why. I am forced to hurry for her, otherwise we will lose a recruit and I don't think we are in a position to risk that happening outside of the Joining itself. I will gather the items for all three of the recruits down there, and I will perform the Ritual. If you see me in Lothering by the time you arrive, it means I have failed and our recruits succumbed to the Joining. If you do not see me until Ostagar, it was a success. You know I would not do this unless absolutely necessary, but out of the lot, Lyna shows the most potential. At least in my eyes. _

_-Shadow_

He quickly folded the letter and sealed it with candle wax before standing up and rushing out of the room and down the stairs to Daylen, handing the old man who was enjoying a glass of red wine the letter. "This is important, hand it to Duncan upon his arrival. I'm forced to rush Lyna down into Ostagar for her Joining. Do not open the letter, no matter how bad your curiosity is. Oh, and you're in charge until Duncan arrives or I return." Shadow said hastily.

"No worries, young Warden. I will make sure that he receives this letter, and that only he receives it." Daylen replied with a small smile on his face.

Shadow nodded and rushed back upstairs to retrieve their backpacks and Lyna herself. After that he rushed down the stairs, carefully so he didn't trip with her in his arms. The bartender opened the door for him on his way outside and in the cover of the night he rushed over to the stables which had only one horse in them. He quickly sat her on the back of the horse and tied the bags onto it as well before taking a coinpurse and dropping it on the ground. He got up onto the horse's back and immediately rushed off. Thievery, yes. Necessary, yes. Sure, whoever owned the horse had just lost it, but at least in its place was five hundred gold coins. Unless someone stole it sometime later, which was fairly likely. Oh well. Shadow had no intent on returning to Lothering, and even if he had to the man doubted anyone would have seen him take off with the horse.

The journey down to Ostagar was long, but quicker than it would have been with all of the other recruits. What only took them the rest of the night would have taken until at least noon the next day had he woken up everyone and told them to move south. Thankfully it was only early morning. He was slow on his approach to Ostagar, knowing that if he moved too quickly the guards there that watched for any hostiles would be forced to take immediate action and gauge whether or not he was friend or foe. He didn't want to take that chance. The horse trotted up to the ruins and immediately he was greeted by ten soldiers, with their hands on their weapons to prepare for anything.

"Halt! You are approaching the Ostagar ruins. State your business." One of them ordered and Shadow nodded before looking at the man.

"See my armor? I am a Grey Warden, and I'm here on Grey Warden business. I've brought a recruit, that is all you need to know at this time." Shadow said quickly, he had no time to waste. Lyna was still unconscious.

"Never in my life have I seen a Warden wear black armor, but fair enough. Move on in, don't get into trouble. If you are a Warden you will know where your people are based." The leading soldier said before signalling for his men to make way.

Shadow rode fast again, annoyed by the brief stop. They all knew that he was a Warden, they all had seen he and Duncan together before. They were Loghain's men, though, and that meant that they were bound to be irritating bastards. Eventually he made it to the Grey Warden camp which was just outside of the ruins where the main army camp was. He quickly got off of the horse and grabbed Lyna as Daveth, Jory, and a few other Wardens watched. He quickly moved inside of the large Grey Warden tent that was filled with bedrolls and tables, equipment and just about anything else they needed. He sat her down on one of the bedrolls and called over to one of their mages, Ser Tyrtafel. An elf of Circle origin.

"What seems to be the issue, Shadow?" The elderly elf asked as he examined Lyna.

"The corruption is getting to her, and I need to act fast or else we lose her. I've wasted enough time as it is, and I was hoping that you could keep her holding on for just long enough for me to get the ingredients for the Joining." He said, his voice betraying how tired he was from the sleepless night.

"I can. Though, you must hurry. Containing something such as the Blight is not something anyone can do for long. It's nearly impossible, though you and I both know the impossible isn't actually a thing." The mage said before placing a hand on Lyna's forehead. "Now, go. I will make sure our future Warden is ready."

Shadow nodded and gave brief thanks before rushing out of the tent, grabbing Ser Jory and Daveth by the shoulders and yanking them forward as he walked. "Come on. You two are with me. We've got little time, you are taking your Joining today."

"Shadow? What's this about?" Jory asked as they walked hastily into the Ostagar ruins again.

Daveth huffed, "I don't see why you should care, Ser Knight, we're going to become Wardens sooner than we had anticipated!"

"Your friend is right, don't worry about it. All you need to know is that your Joining is going to be today, so prepare for it." Shadow hissed.

Navigating the camp that was inside the ruins was like going through a maze. There were so many people there doing so many different things, and whilst there was plenty of room to walk or run in, it still felt cramped with everything the King needed relatively close to him. Eventually they found themselves standing at the gate to the Korcari Wilds, guarded by one man and his Mabari hound. Shadow quickly nodded at the man whilst stating who he was, and the guard allowed the three of them through into the Wilds with a friendly word of caution.

The smell seemed to change in an instant. The ruins smelled normal, but as soon as they made their way into the Wilds it just smelled like mold and fish as well as what you'd smell in a swamp. The mist that seemed to cover the Wilds also made it a bit hard to see, but not by much. The sounds of various animals and insects were heard. Though Shadow sensed something much darker in these Wilds than he would ever admit to the two accompanying him. They were not ready for such news. It would terrify them and no doubt make them run away.

"What are we here in the Wilds for, if I may ask?" Daveth asked somewhat worriedly, the thief as well as the knight had both heard the stories of the Korcari Wilds and the Witches of the Wilds.

Shadow sighed, "Harvesting Darkspawn blood. That's what the Joining requires. I've got vials to fill up with their blood."

"Darkspawn blood? What would we possibly need that for?" Jory asked.

"You'll find out." Shadow replied.

"How many of those vials will we need to fill?"

Shadow shrugged as they continued on, so far not encountering any life. "Three, but I'm going to get four just in case. You never know when extras may come in handy."

Daveth chuckled, "True that. I've felt that way all me life."

"You were a thief." Jory butted in only to receive a glare from Daveth.

"Enough. Let's get a move on." Shadow ordered before heading into the Wilds, the two reluctantly following closely behind.

The Wilds; a place unpleasant before the Darkspawn started appearing on the surface. Now, with those tainted creatures plaguing the land, the Wilds were made worse than they already were. Something many thought impossible. To Shadow, they had an overwhelming presence within the Wilds though he knew that was not entirely true. At least, not in the part of the Wilds he and the two recruits were in. Not yet, anyway. It was only a matter of time before the Darkspawn completely overran that place, and because of that time restraint the battle was situated sooner rather than later. The Darkspawn were already on the march, though, so any time that was made it was not intentional on the King's part. They would arrive in a few days now, and everyone had to be ready to fight to the death. Shadow knew this, and that is why he mentally scolded himself for allowing a friendship to just begin with he and the Dalish girl. She, like so many others, would more than likely die in battle. Hell, it wasn't even up for debate. There would be losses, and literally everyone and everything he knew was doomed to die in battle with the Darkspawn. All because no one else could, or would.

"You know," Jory began, "...for a place called the 'Korcari Wilds,' there is surprisingly little wildlife."

"That, Ser Jory, is because the Darkspawn presence forces even animals to run, hide, or risk becoming corrupted by the Blight." Shadow said as they wandered through the Wilds. They were not the quietest group in this, either. They probably were gathering notice of anything near their vicinity. He himself had plate armor, and Jory had chainmail. The quietest of the lot was Daveth who wore hardened leather.

The Knight nodded, "So, we're here to collect four vials of blood? Where are the Darkspawn?"

Shadow shook his head, "Information on a need-to-know basis, Ser Knight. All you need to know is that I know where they are at all times, and you should be ready for anything. Just because I am here with you does not mean that this is not a test. You will get a taste of battle with the Darkspawn today. You will be changed by it, forever."

"Changed how?" Jory asked.

"Again, need-to-know basis. You'll find out eventually. It's nothing too serious, I assure you." Shadow said before quickly drawing his sword. "Darkspawn, around the bend. Brace yourselves, they are charging."

The two men immediately reacted, not wanting to lose their lives so early in their Grey Warden careers. Four Hurlocks ran around the corner and stopped at the sight of the humans. They let out loud, chilling laughs before continuing their charge forward. Daveth quickly shot one of them in the head with an arrow, killing it mid-sprint. Before he could load another arrow, however, the three others were on top of Shadow and Jory. It was as if they knew who was the Warden and who was not, as two went after Jory whilst the other one seemed to act merely as a distraction. Shadow skillfully broke free from the vicious assault of the Darkspawn and decapitated it, rushing over to the knight just in time to see a sword pierce his gut. The second Darkspawn smirked before going to slash his throat, only getting stopped by Shadow who charged directly into the creature's side. Jory's vision blurred, accompanied by a wave of dizziness before he fell backwards.

Shadow fought with the Darkspawn for a few moments before burying his sword deep into its gut. Unfortunately, this allowed the final Hurlock to close in on Shadow. By then, however, Daveth had readied another arrow and released it. The iron-tipped arrow sped through the air and dug itself deep into the Hurlock's skull. With a final hiss the creature fell backwards onto the cold hard ground. Shadow sensed Darkspawn, but they were not close enough to them to pose danger yet. That was the key word: yet.

"Daveth, take these vials and fill them with the blood. I'll tend to Jory to the best of my abilities until we get back to Ostagar." Shadow said as he walked over and handed the thief four empty glass vials.

The man took the items after he shouldered his bow, looking down at the Darkspawn corpses. "So... I just..."

"You make a wound on their corpses, and you take the blood that pours from them and fill those vials with said blood. It's simple." Shadow responded with a soft sigh, beginning to channel some basic healing spells into Jory's body.

No matter what Shadow did there in the field, it wouldn't last long. Jory had been stabbed by a Darkspawn blade, not only did that mean he sustained an abnormal sword wound, but also that he was more than likely afflicted by the exact same thing Lyna was. That's how the Darkspawn worked. So much as a scratch by them or their weapons and your life was in peril. Daveth did as he was told and slowly knelt before one of the Hurlocks, it was the last one to fall that died by an arrow to the forehead. It was the best option to get blood in the thief's eyes, as the blood loss was kept to a minimum due to the fact the arrow was still in its head and the wound was located in his head rather than any other part of his body. The latter was probably just Daveth overthinking the situation, but all that mattered was that there would be enough blood to fill most of the vials if not all of them. Five minutes had passed and the vials were completely filled and Shadow's healing spells had done all they could for Jory to prepare him for the trek back. They were half an hour into the Wilds, and whilst time had passed rather quickly before, Shadow knew that it would not be the case this time around. Things were a bit more serious than they had been going in. One of the recruits were downed, and the only other recruit he had at his side was one that did not have enough strength to carry Ser Jory.

Such a thing would not have been an issue if he were with another Warden, unfortunately Daveth, like all of the other recruits, had not gone through the Joining to be able to prove useful. Shadow was the only one able to sense the Darkspawn should any draw uncomfortably close, and with Ser Jory hanging over his shoulder a fight was the last thing he wanted. It wasn't as if he could simply drop the knight and engage in combat. That made a question appear in his mind; how in the name of the Maker does a knight fall so quickly to Darkspawn? It had to have been fear. He feared for when Jory is to go under the Joining ritual. Something told him that it would end badly.

"Come on, we need to get moving if we're to make it back in time. Leave the corpses where they are, the scouting parties sent out by the King or Loghain will tend to them." Shadow said as he picked Jory up and held him over his shoulder, beginning to walk.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Daveth said before he followed close behind, looking all around to make sure nothing got brave enough to sneak up on them. Not that his unaided senses would help much against Darkspawn unless it was something like an Ogre, or pathetic grunt of either of the different types.

Shadow thought to himself in silence as they made their return trip to Ostagar. He made certain to also keep his mind alert to any change in the Darkspawn and the way he sensed them. If they drew near, he'd know right away.

_Something isn't right. The Darkspawn are drawing too close to Ostagar, meaning they are getting bolder. They're planning something, but what could it be? The King is holding out well against them, and we are prepared for another attack. We know they are gathering numbers each second we leave them unattended, but they still draw near. They're planning another massive assault, but why? The King will know when they move and ready his men, there would be no possible way that those corrupt bastards gain any footing. Not unless they bring something that no one is ready for, but, there is no way an Archdemon would show itself this early on. If this is a true Blight... Wait. What if there's something in the Wilds they're after? Perhaps Ostagar isn't their target._

_Logosha? No. Those Hurlocks were nothing more than the common rabble seen in the Deep Roads. If the Logosha don't have an interest in it, why would the common Darkspawn have an interest? There's only one way to get the answers I seek, and we do not have the damned manpower to achieve them. There's no way the King would lend me that many men so that I could comb the Korcari Wilds and find what I'm looking for. Nay, what **they're** looking for. I'll just have to tell Cailan about the possible threat to our safety these Darkspawn scouts pose. He should believe me, I'm not afraid of that. I'm afraid of Loghain butting his ugly head into things like he always does. The man hates the Wardens, and unfortunately Cailan usually runs everything by him before acting. That's what a 'Hero of Ferelden' gets, I suppose. That just complicates my life. No matter, Shadow, you have one job and one job only. Fix Lyna, heal and fix Jory, and while doing both of those at the same time also make Daveth a Warden. Everything else can come later._

By the time his thoughts had finished running rampant, they had finally reached the gates of Ostagar and requested entry. The soldiers allowed them inside and without stopping or acknowledging anything else, Shadow made his way through the camp once again. He needed to get to Tyrtafel. Whilst Lyna was important, she was more than likely stable by now. That was more than could be said for Ser Jory, who Shadow could feel was losing strength and a grasp on life rapidly. His magic was wearing off, and soon the knight would be in the hands of his Maker. Like before, it hadn't taken him that long to get back to the Warden camp and inside the tent where the healer was. He sat Jory down on a bedroll and immediately the elf mage sighed.

"You really need to stop bringing me damaged recruits, Shadow. Not only does it kill our reputation, it exhausts me." The healer teased.

Shadow chuckled before looking over at Lyna. "That so? Well, I'll make it easier on you. Whilst you tend to Jory, I'll go prepare the Joining. Daveth, carry Lyna over to the ruins of the old temple where Duncan said the Joining will take place."

"You won't hear an argument from me." Daveth said with a smirk, looking at the unconscious and rather pale Lyna.

Shadow growled, "No funny business, and I mean it. You're to be a Warden, act like it." He warned before walking out of the tent.

Half an hour had passed since Daveth took Lyna and moved to the specified location to take the Joining. It was an isolated spot, something that the Joining required so that no one may know the secretive ritual aside from those that were to be a part of it. It wasn't as grand as was promised due to the urgency of it. None of the other Wardens were really alerted to it as Shadow had to act fast in order to save Lyna's life. In fact, the only real reason Daveth and Jory were alerted to it in the first place was because they were right there in the tent when he was talking to Tyrtafel. Not only that, but he needed the extra hands during the gathering of blood. Well, not exactly. In truth, he just figured it'd be easier to do all three at once rather than one and then a large group later. Had the two been in Lothering like the rest, well, this would have gone a bit quicker.

Daveth simply looked at Lyna who was slowly starting to wake up. Though, she hadn't opened her eyes or really made a sound yet. Her illness had to have affected her strongly as she still retained that visage of warmed over death. Before the thief could think another thought of the elf's condition, Shadow walked in holding a silver chalice.

"I'll be honest with you Daveth, and Lyna if you are conscious to hear this. Usually there's a whole ceremony and true ritual pulled off during this, but I don't have the time. If you want to see what you missed out on, survive this and stick around for when Duncan does the rest of the recruits." Shadow said briefly as he sat the chalice down on the table. "You're going to be drinking their blood, and it's going to be physically and spiritually demanding. This means it is going to hurt, a lot. There are two outcomes, and you can only get one. You're either going to be painfully fine and live, or you're going to die a very agonizing death. Through their blood we get our power. With it flowing through our veins we can kill the Archdemon."

Daveth simply remained silent, what would normally have scared someone like him off, well, it didn't really have the same affect on him. He had nothing to live for, and it was better he became a Warden or died trying. He knew a lot of people out there were going to need help, and every Warden that was able to give that help would mean another child could live happily in the world. It would ensure their safety. Not to mention the Wardens were heroes.

"I'll speak the words of the first, and the words I had spoken to me during my own Joining. Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand, vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten and that one day we shall join you. Daveth, step forward." Shadow ordered as he held the chalice out in front of him.

Daveth did as he was asked and slowly took the silver chalice from Shadow. He looked at its contents and braced himself not just for the effects, but the taste. The blood of those foul creatures could not have been good. Eventually he lifted it to his lips and took a good gulp of the blood. Shadow recovered the chalice right after and soon after that Daveth felt the affects of the blood hit him. Shadow wasn't lying, it was like drinking acid. His entire body clenched up and he let out loud groans of pain whilst he choked, collapsing to his knees as the pain slowly became more and more unbearable. His clenched eyes shot open to reveal them be completely white before he fell flat on his face. Shadow simply looked down at the man. He had lived, though only by a narrow margin judging by the reaction he had to it. Shadow then walked over to Lyna and let out a soft sigh as he aided her in drinking the blood. She had a much more calm reaction to it than Daveth, but the pain that it caused her was still evident until she passed out herself. She too had survived.

Slowly they both woke up, and whilst Daveth gathered himself quickly and stood up, Lyna was a bit more groggy. "How long... was I out for?" Daveth asked as he rubbed his head, "Damn that hurt like hell..."

"You both passed out for five minutes, but, pretty much all of us do." Shadow said with a sigh, looking at Lyna. "How are you feeling, girl? You've been unconscious for the last... hell, I don't even know. You've been out of it half of yesterday, all night, and until now, the afternoon."

Her body was aching, her head throbbing, and her throat feeling as if it had been lit on fire. "I'm fine." She stated in a rather normal tone.

"Mhm." Shadow said in an unbelieving tone. "Well, if that's the case you can get up and walk to the Warden tents and get some rest. Both of you. The Joining is a taxing ritual, and since you both have passed you are going to get slammed pretty hard by exhaustion. Take a nap. Sleep this day away. Come tomorrow you'll be feeling like you could lift an entire city onto your shoulders and eat all of the food on this planet. Oh, and before you two go..." He said before pulling out two necklaces with amulets filled with the Darkspawn blood in it. "Take these, wear them always to remember those who the Joining has taken from the world. They deserve it, and you owe it to them. We all do. Their sacrifices do not deserve to be forgotten."

Lyna and Daveth nodded before taking the necklaces and putting them on. Daveth didn't stay a moment longer after Shadow dismissed them, and walked away to head to the camp. He knew what Shadow was talking about when he said they'd be tired. He was exhausted in more ways than just physically. Everything that made Daveth himself was just exhausted from the event. He didn't like the brief nightmare he had, however, and hoped that it would not happen again. Though, having heard what the other Wardens had said... he had to expect it. Lyna slowly got off of the table and onto her feet, but collapsed. She would have hit the cold hard ground had Shadow not been there to catch her.

"Look, I know Darkspawn blood is strong stuff but it isn't an alcoholic beverage." He jested quietly to make sure no one heard him other than her.

Lyna groaned and simply allowed him to support her weight. "I didn't... need to know that I drank their blood, shem."

"What kind of man would I be if I didn't tell you what I put into your body? On top of it, I told you yesterday" Shadow asked with a rather serious tone.

"That's nasty." The elf replied.

"Yes, well, Daveth survived. You're going to have to get used to his dirty jokes, and I figured I'd get you started on getting used to them." Shadow stated with a smirk behind his helmet.

Lyna hissed before standing up on her own, though very weakly. "I hate you."

Shadow nodded, "I know. Now, go get some rest. The Warden camp is the first camp you'll run into on the way to the main army camp. Just look for an elf mage, Tyrtafel. He'll show you around and find you a bed to sleep in." With that having been said, Lyna slowly and rather sluggishly made her way over to the camp whilst Shadow cleaned up. Which really was rather simple, there would be no body to bury this time so all he had to do was take the chalice and empty it in a safe location.


	12. Prologue - Chapter 9

**_Prologue: Betrayal_**

_Chapter 9: Assuming Direct Control_

The Dark Mother walked through the upper stone halls of the Long Stretch, a large part of the Deep Roads that had been isolated from the rest due to multiple cave-ins. She had Gruk at her side as well as an escort of various infamous Logosha elite warriors. They were on their way to the stone formation known as the 'Commanding Ledge,' where the leaders of the Logosha and the almighty Voice of Urthemiel, a Hurlock said to speak nothing but the words of the Archdemon itself, commanded the Logosha horde. The Logosha were Darkspawn within a grey area that separated them from the rest of them. They had a direct, yet indirect link to the Archdemon. They could not receive orders from the Archdemon without a Voice, and they were more separated than they were connected to the other Darkspawn. Should the Voice of the Archdemon be silenced, the Logosha would lose the will of the Archdemon and focus on the separate will of the Dark Mother until another Voice appeared. Should both the Voice and the Dark Mother die, control would fall to the High Warchief: Gruk. If he died, the title of leader would pass down the ranks to the very last Logosha. This, along with the Broodmothers of the Logosha, made their extinction an event that was highly unlikely. The Broodmothers were many, and for each Logosha legion lost another was born and combat ready in less than a month's time.

The Logosha, whilst they followed the Archdemon's orders as a form of guidance, were not entirely loyal to it. They had their own agenda, and when it truly came down to it there was only one they answered to. Even the Hierarchs answered to one person, though often that person seemed to answer to them. The Dark Mother. The Hierarchs included all leaders of the Logosha, including Gruk and many others excluding the Voice. The Dark Mother never spoke to the Logosha horde in its entirety, though the Hierarchs spoke her precise words to the horde. It was believed that the common Logosha were not worthy to hear her speak, and so the Hierarchs forbade her from speaking to the entire horde. However, she sat highest on the Commanding Ledge to show all Logosha her powerful and horrific beauty.

"Dark Mother, we can attack the ruins now. The surface dwellers will not expect such an attack so soon if the bulk of our forces are still too far away, the Archdemon sees this and the Voice says we are to attack the ruins." Gruk growled as they continued to walk through the halls decorated with melted rock, soon to be nearing the entrance to the Commanding Ledge.

The woman shook her head and let out a sigh, "That will only get us killed, Gruk. Damn the Voice and Archdemon, their orders are flawed and they only wish to see our kind wiped off of this world. There is an army at Ostagar, we should allow an army to attack it. No, we must focus our gaze elsewhere."

"But we outnumber them..."

"Not everything is about numbers, my dearest. A group of ten can hold back hundreds if they know what they are doing, and if they know they are not going back to their homes." The Dark Mother replied before reaching the closed iron door that was the entrance to the Commanding Ledge.

There were ten Logosha standing outside of it, two guarding either side of the door whilst the others just remained alert while going about their business. The Logosha weren't like the other Darkspawn, that much would be obvious to anyone who faced them in combat. They had minds of their own, and did not operate like the other, more common Darkspawn. They were outcasts, and every Archdemon that had been in power since their conception knew that they would only follow their orders the way they saw fit. The current Dark Mother was the seventieth to have risen in power, the others having been killed, slaughtered by their Archdemons. Urthemiel had only claimed one, the current Dark Mother's mentor and indeed her mother as well. This made Urthemiel a special spot in the Dark Mother's heart full of hatred and wrath. The Voice of the Archdemon was treading on a thin rope with her, constantly butting into commands in order to set them the way Urthemiel had wanted them to go. Whether Gruk, or any of the Hierarchs knew what the Archdemon was doing... She did not know, and she certainly did not care.

"Make way for the Dark Mother, you grunts. And avert your eyes, you are not worthy of seeing her magnificence." Gruk commanded in a growl and right away all of the Darkspawn looked towards the ground, making sure that their weapons were put away.

To bear arms in the Dark Mother's presence and it not being a battlefield was punishable by death of the worst kind; The Executioner's Relic. A relic worn by the Dark Mother, much like that found in the Cousland vault and all other relics, but it was instead a relic that used buried near to where the current Archdemon was. They swooped in before any other Darkspawn could get their hands on it and immediately took it back to the Long Stretch. Of course, only the previous Dark Mother was able to transport it due to the harmful effect it had on the Logosha.

Gruk pushed open the heavy iron door and marched in with the elite warriors following closely behind. All together, they formed a curtain of flesh and iron to ban the Logosha horde from seeing the Dark Mother make her entrance until she sat upon her throne. All of the Hierarchs placed their gazes upon the stone floor below them. All save for the Voice, who regarded itself as second only to Urthemiel due to it being a vessel of the Archdemon's commands. The Dark Mother climbed up the fifteen steps, taking a seat upon her throne made from the bones of the three common races as well as iron. It had a soft seat and back so that she could truly rest upon it, unlike the other seats of the Hierarchs which were completely made of stone, metal, or bone. Gruk had taken his seat which was just below the Dark Mother's and the elite warriors dispersed so that the Hierarchs could be seen.

As soon as the Hierarchs were completely revealed to the Logosha horde, the Darkspawn chanted loudly the name of their order. Loud percussion in the form of the Logosha beating upon their armor was heard, and shook the very ground. All of the Hierarchs allowed this to continue for around a minute before the Dark Mother raised her arm into the air, making a fist which silenced each and every one of them. Her orders were supreme. They were not to be disobeyed. Gruk looked up at the Dark Mother, who had in return looked down at him and nodded. Her eyes flashed with a bright and magnificent purple before remaining that color. The High Warchief's body tensed up as the same happened to him and eventually he leaned forward, seeming to examine each and every Darkspawn that stood below.

The Voice narrowed its eyes at what was happening, not entirely trusting it. The Archdemon knew a great many things, and passed that knowledge down to its pawns so that they knew what they were dealing with. What the Voice had witnessed was the Dark Mother taking control of the High Warchief. She had not consulted with him before doing this; such a thing was an act of heresy! He growled which bared his disgusting and rotting teeth, he was going to wait and see what the Dark Mother was going to order and step in if need be.

"Hear the words of the Dark Mother!" Gruk roared aloud, standing up and walking down each of the steps that led to his throne. His eyes returned to normal.

The throne he sat upon was right below the Dark Mother's in height, more than likely due to his position. He was the second in charge. She made it that way because he was the only one she knew she could ever completely trust. Darkspawn, whether they be from the majority or from the Logosha, all hated other forms of life. They had a single purpose, and that was to corrupt. However, when they saw that the Dark Mothers and their elite warriors all displayed superior strength and influence, the large horde that was known as the Logosha fell quickly into line and never doubted the surface races ever again. Often times even accepting them if they were willing to obey commands.

"For years we have waited. For years we have starved ourselves. Our numbers are much lower than what they used to be, but we are strong enough to hold back any who dare attempt to crush us. Our more common brethren may outnumber us, they may be able to cover more ground than us, but they are no where near as powerful as each and every Logosha that stands today! Our offspring are born more intelligent, more strong, more agile, and more enduring than those pathetic whelps the Archdemon commands! Each and every single one of you hold a place in your Dark Mother's heart! Each and every single one of you hold an objective, a goal, that **must** be accomplished! The Archdemon, the master of our numberless and _mindless _brothers have attempted to take control of us! It wishes us to march upon Ostagar, it wants us to destroy the forces in the ruins, but it takes a blind and worthless dragonling to not see the devastation that would wreak upon our kind!" Gruk shouted, now pacing back and forth towards the front of the Commanding Ledge.

That part of the speech alone was enough to make the Voice get up from its own, low-sitting throne and walk over to Gruk and seize his head in its strong grasp. "This 'High Warchief' is under the influence of the human wretch! Together they try, and beg you to betray your rightful master! Listen to me! Each and every one of you belong to me! Enough playing around with humans, elves, and dwarves! Your true fate is to serve me completely, and without question! She speaks of I, Urthemiel the Beautiful, and tries to make you betray me. No more!" The Voice roared much like a dragon would.

The Voice of Urthemiel tossed Gruk aside, sending the Warchief slamming into his throne and breaking it. "The words I speak are words you shall heed. You are all mine to control, the Darkspawn all bend knee to me! Together, you Logosha shall be my vanguard. We will crush the surface and make this world **our** domain!"

The rest of the Hierarchs remained in their seats, not sure how to act. Well, they knew what they wanted to do. But the Dark Mother hadn't allowed them to, not yet anyway, which meant that she had a plan. That became more apparent when she wore the relic she had retrieved from the Cousland vault around her neck openly. She had discovered what it did. It was a relic of immense power, though it merely looked like a fancy amulet worth a large pouch of gold. In truth, it was a priceless tool and now that she could wield it... The power was only her own to command. She stopped right behind the Voice, who heard her final step and turned around. Unfortunately, as soon as the Darkspawn looked upon the woman he felt his body tense up. Something pushed its way into his mind severing most, but not all of the connection he had to the Archdemon. He slowly drew his sword whilst all of the Logosha save for Gruk, who was unconscious, looked upon the scene unfolding before them.

"The Archdemon believes he is the only one who can control Darkspawn. That is true, when it comes to controlling them en masse. We know of the Architect, and we know of ourselves. You all may hate me, you may all want me dead for what I am. But know that I have the power to control your movements, your every action, whether you breathe or suffocate due to not having the will to draw another corrupt breath. Keep that thought in mind, each and every one of you Hierarchs, each and every one of you workers and soldiers. Then add to that thought the fact that I have not exercised such power on you, and allowed you to remain free of all control." The Dark Mother called out to all of the Logosha.

She took a few steps towards the voice who stared at her with his eyes glowing the same bright purple that the dragon's eyes on the amulet did. "Give me your sword, dear." The woman spoke softly to the Darkspawn, who had offered her the hilt.

She took the grip and tightened her fingers around it, holding it towards his stomach before placing a finger underneath the Hurlock's jaw. "Which is more than can be said of the Archdemons that seek only to control and destroy." The Dark Mother called out to all of them before plunging the sword into the Voice's gut, twisting it and pushing him off of the Commanding Ledge.

The Logosha let out loud roars as they saw the Hurlock plummet to the ground, and the Hierarchs narrowed their eyes at their Dark Mother. "Silence! I am now in direct control, I will speak for myself and you will all listen. I am not a goddess, but I wield powers beyond comprehension. With me in control of the Logosha, I shall lead us to victory and our enemies to death!"

"But without the Archdemon's guidance, where will you take us?" Syferax, the Hierarch of Defense asked aloud for all to hear.

The Dark Mother chuckled in a very dark manner, "The Grey Warden recruits all gather at Lothering. I shall send a force of twenty to raze the village and destroy all of the potential recruits. Meanwhile, I personally will tend to matters up in the northernmost part of Ferelden. Gruk shall be in charge while I am busy. I also want the Broodmothers getting to work to replenish our numbers. No more shall we allow the parasite to slowly kill us."

"As you command, Dark Mother. All of us do not hate, nor wish your death. We'd sooner die than that!" The Hierarchs all said in unison.

"This meeting is concluded. I shall allow Gruk to choose out of the horde who is to raid the village. The rest of you shall just listen to him and prepare for my return." The Dark Mother said before heading back the way she had arrived from.

Syferax simply looked over at the demolished throne and let out a sigh. "Guards, take the High Warchief to the healing hut and see to it that our Warchief is ready to command us." He ordered and six of the Hurlock elite warriors stepped forward to carry out the task.

The Logosha were completely loyal to the Dark Mother, despite what the Archdemon had said. The Voice and no doubt Urthemiel himself believed that they were not, that because she was a human they had a desire to kill her. It was entirely the opposite. It was a side not many saw of the Darkspawn, perhaps because the Logosha were a unique bunch. They desired world domination and supremacy. The Darkspawn horde and its master, along with most if not all of the other 'groups' that were separated from the main horde only desired destruction. The Logosha didn't want the entire world, at least, not at their current point in time. Ferelden would be enough to quench their thirst for supremacy. For awhile.

* * *

_**Plans for the Future:**_

_It was often said to me by my mother that the Archdemon and any who controlled the Darkspawn always stunted the growth of the Logosha. That we were weak, and controlled despite being free from the normal means of it. I never knew what she meant. As a little girl I saw my father, he was a knight indebted to the Cousland family whom had fallen for my mother's beauty and power. He knew what my mother was, and she had even made him the High Warchief of the Logosha regardless of what the Voice warned her of. It was around the time of his ascendance to High Warchief that I met my life-long companion, Gruk, a young Hurlock who was destined to go from berserker, to general, to High Warchief. By the time I was but five years of age he had already matured to adulthood, but that is well off course._

_My mother's power had begun to drive my father mad when I was around fifteen. Gruk was training me how to fight when out of nowhere my father had come barging in and demanding to speak to me in private. The berserker followed his orders, for to deny them would be heresy and he would be executed. Though he also had orders from my mother to watch over me, and had he not been given those overriding orders I would have died many years ago. My father, when Gruk had left, attempted to cut me down but was stopped by the double-bladed battleaxe that Gruk wielded. It dug into his head and thus ended my father's tenure as High Warchief and Gruk was promoted to General. _

_At this time Gruk and I led two separate groups of Logosha. Those under my command numbered around fifty elite warriors of different skills and were named the Fist whilst Gruk led thousands named the Gauntlet. Well, at the time there were only four thousand Logosha that awaited a General. The rest of the eight thousand had already been under the command of two other Generals. For years afterwards, no one sat upon the throne of the High Warchief. This caused infighting, a struggle to gain that much power and eventually Gruk killed the two Generals who posed the most claim to the throne and sat upon it himself. Around this time, however, my mother had been deceived and betrayed by the Voice of Urthemiel. The newest and most despised of them all. _

_I took the reigns of the Hierarchy and the Logosha made sure to obey me above all else. Unfortunately, I was naive enough to believe the Voice provided great assistance to us. That only lasted for two years until Urthemiel was found, thus giving the Voice his name. Then, I watched carefully and quietly. I saw what the two of them, or what Urthemiel himself was trying to do. The Logosha were steadily declining. All of the battles he had sent us into were for pathetic goals, and that was when I started searching for the powerful relics my mother had told me about. With her knowledge to give me strength and wisdom, I alone command the Logosha horde, and I will_ _**never** relinquish my command until the day my daughter takes over. Not that I have one... yet._

_I've spoken briefly to the Cousland boy, the middle child of three. I'm not as foolish as I once was, I can see clearly now what the actions are that the surface races are taking. His sister heads to Lothering with the Grey Warden Commander in order to regroup with the other recruits and head south to Ostagar. Coincidentally, that is also where the eldest brother is now, following the orders of this King Cailan. Poor Aedan... left all alone to rule an entire piece of Ferelden and its people all by himself. He has the makings of a good King, or Emperor... but each of those types of people need a woman to keep them in line. To guide them, give them power, and assist them in their ruling... I am coming for you, Cousland... I will be that woman of yours._

**Prepare for 10/31**


	13. Prologue - Chapter 10

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Chapter 10: Unleashing the Logosha ; A Gift _

_**Author Note: Hello everyone. You've probably seen the various changes in the format I've been writing in. Namely, the small pieces of information such as days, times, and chapter numbers. It's around this part in the story that it will break off into different sections, hence the new Chapter 10 name which is: Unleashing the Logosha ; A Gift. I've decided to leave the small details like the time and day, etc, in the actual story itself. The main thing I'd like to bring your attention to is the way the chapters will be named from here on out. A general rule to clarify is this, if you see ; anywhere after 'Chapter ?:' that means that there are two or more different groups focused on in this chapter. More or less, what I'd usually do for say a mini-chapter, is now being crushed into one chapter (neatly). I hope you understand what I mean here, timeskips which I've done few of already, are pretty much going to be nonexistent except for a few special occasions. The grey line you see will now mark the beginning of the second half of the chapter and/or OOC information divides (like this one below). kthxbai, enjoy!**_

_***The chapter divides will usually be filled with information happening elsewhere, to further describe what's happening**_

* * *

"I don't know, Natia. I'm still not overly fond of the surface." Duran said as he and his companion traveled across the bridge to get back to the tavern.

The female dwarf simply shrugged, "It's not too bad. I just don't fully trust the peoples up here. They think they're bigger than us 'wee' dwarves. Sodding idiots."

"Aye." Duran replied with a short chuckle.

Just as the two of them got off of the bridge Duran spotted a small dark purple orb floating in the middle of the air. It was placed between them and the tavern, meaning there was no way around it. There was, but he had a feeling attempting to do so would only get the both of them hurt. Sure enough the orb pulsed and due to its actions a shockwave erupted from it. Duran quickly tackled Natia to the ground and allowed the wave of kinetic energy to pass by. The orb had now expanded into a fairly large portal with a pure black center. The sounds of screaming seemed to be heard from the portal, along with the loud clanging of armor.

Soon large Hurlocks marched through, clad in twisted plate armor. Each of them looking angered and ready to kill. Duran slowly got up off of Natia and readied his sword whilst Natia did the same, though with her daggers.

"Damn! Whatever that was, it trashed the tavern! I hope everyone is okay!" Duran said loudly as he examined the ruins that had once been the tavern.

Natia looked behind them briefly before shaking her head, "No way back. The bridge collapsed."

"The water isn't **that** deep." Duran chuckled before charging ahead, the Logosha in his sight.

The Logosha had the same idea whilst a few stayed behind to protect their portal. Whatever the Darkspawn were doing, everyone knew it had to be of ill intent. The guards of the village along with the Templars, well, they couldn't be relied on. Only the Recruits were able to defend the village from these creatures. At least for now, how hard could it be? Duran had killed countless of Darkspawn in the Deep Roads before, as had Natia. He had to remember Shadow's lessons, however, these had to be the Logosha he spoke of. There were no other explanations for how Darkspawn conjured a portal directly in the center of a village.

"**Kill them all! Burn everything! Forget the fallen**." A Darkspawn General said, it's voice calm yet booming, as it stepped through the portal with one of their Emissaries.

"They can talk?! Great! Just what we need, intelligent sodding Darkspawn!" Duran roared before clashing with a Logosha.

The warrior he had fought was unlike anything he had experienced whilst fighting the Darkspawn. Usually he could take them out without issue. This one, however, it knew what it was doing. It was strong, fast, and well trained. Where did these damned things come from? How had he never encountered them before? Just to make matters worse, something was sapping his strength but he couldn't figure out what! Soon the rest of the recruits arrived and Duran had the stress taken off of him. Whatever was sapping his strength suddenly stopped as soon as Natia rapidly stabbed the Logosha Duran was holding back.

"Where is that Warden-Commander?! Duncan?!" Natia called out, "Wasn't 'e supposed to be here by now?!"

"He will on arrive this day, young Brosca!" Daylen called out before firing a bolt of electricity straight at a charging Logosha warrior, frying it. "But I cannot guarantee when! For now, target that Emissary. I sense it is the only thing keeping their portal open!"

Indeed the Emissary was keeping the portal open. The only issue with getting to it was the fact that the Logosha were defending it with their lives. Already they had invaded Lothering with alarming speed. Fires had already begun to blaze and a lot of the Logosha had pushed passed the pathetic defense that were the recruits, and moved further into the village. Lothering may not fall completely on that day, but it'd be damaged severely. None of the recruits were under a false illusion of success, however, and each knew that without Duncan or a true Grey Warden, they'd all perish. They had never fought Darkspawn such as those there at that very moment. But from the sounds of it, the current Grey Wardens have. Why did Shadow have to go down to Ostagar? That was the question that flooded all of their minds.

"Protect the Chantry at all costs!" They heard a distant Templar call out, "It cannot fall! Fight with all you have!"

The Logosha General let out a sickening laugh, "**All Logosha, target the Chantry. Do not attack another structure until it is burnt to the ground! Capture the defenseless, kill the rest. Leave these Grey Wardens to me.**"

"How in the bloody 'ell are we supposed to take on that bastard?!" Natia asked under her breath before quickly evading one of the warriors' attacks.

The female dwarf did not see what she had stepped into. Having evaded one of the warriors' attacks sent her straight into range of the massive mace the Logosha General carried. The General had predicted that course of action and soon the dwarf felt sharp metal slam into her back, sending her flying three yards back and crashing into the ruins of the bridge.

"Natia!" Duran roared before charging the Hurlock General, his sword being lit aflame by Daylen's enchantment.

The forsaken Aeducan cut through three lesser Hurlocks before arriving at the General. He narrowly avoided a collision with the mace and retaliated by swinging his sword straight into the General's side. The creature let out a hiss more of amusement than pain, and grabbed onto the sword before the dwarf could rip it out and plant it somewhere else. Duran felt a spiked fist slam into the side of his head which knocked him to the ground and severely impaired his vision. The enchantment on his sword faded and the General ripped the weapon out of his side. He saw Neria and whipped the sword at her, but Daylen had seen the General's move.

"Must I do everything on my own?" Daylen huffed before sending a strong gust of wind towards the sword, sending it straight back to the General.

That managed to catch the Hurlock off of his guard. The sword soared through the air, its target once more being the General. Luckily for the Darkspawn, the Emissary blasted the sword away and into the water.

"**You cannot survive this, Grey Wardens.**" The Logosha General said as he marched slowly towards Daylen.

Neria was unable to assist her mentor, the Emissary had channeled intense electricity directly into her from its fingertips. Her body seized up and intense pain shot through her as she collapsed to the ground. She had been bested and soon she would be a corpse on the cold ground of Lothering. Daylen refused to be bested and when he saw that Neria was under attack, he quickly rushed into the relentless arc of lightning. Thankfully he was much more experienced and powerful than Neria, and due to his raw power and experience he balled up the electricity and sent it flying back to the Logosha Emissary. This act had not been foreseen by the Emissary and immediately it experienced the effects of its own power. Electricity flowed all around it, eventually consuming its entire body. Very few things could survive such an attack, even if it were from their own hands. This was no different for the Emissary. It had no protection against magic, it's entire focus was split between keeping the portal open and aiding the offensive. The portal collapsed with a similar blast as to when it opened, though this one was much more powerful and leveled all but the Logosha.

Daylen had the wind knocked out of him as he hit the ground, hard. He slowly looked over to where the Emissary had been and saw the sprawled out and charred remains of the creature. Darkspawn were not pushovers. The Logosha? They sure made the main horde look like they were. The elderly mage knew that he had no chance in fighting back now. He was exhausted, that blast having leeched all stamina from him. His vision was blurry, but not a single one of his comrades got up. The Hurlock General seemed to have gotten a chuckle out of seeing the pained expression on the man's weathered face.

"**It seems that your friends have fallen in battle, human.**" It taunted as it took large and prideful steps towards the weakened mage who was in a vulnerable position on his back. "**Your civilizations will burn and we will have dominance over this world. Humor me with your last words, I wish to hear them so I have a joke to tell my warriors when we drink from your skulls.**"

Daylen's rather rapid breathing calmed down as the oxygen returned to his lungs without issue. "You will... never... succeed. There will always be one of us standing... to kill your masters, and you!" He choked out before his vision cleared and he saw the General looking down at him with eyes of blood-red hatred.

"**Bold words from a man who could protect neither his apprentice nor his friends. Your civilization's extinction is here.**" The General said before taking his mace and raising it high above his head, powering up an execution attack.

"I don't think so..." A young yet strong elvish voice growled before the General felt and saw a sword get slammed up through his armpit, carving its way around before exiting his body and leaving his arm barely upon his shoulder.

The General let out a loud roar as he dropped the massive mace that he wielded with one hand. For any human, and perhaps even a Qunari, it would have required two hands to successfully wield. It landed on the ground with a thud, Darrian narrowly avoiding a run in with it as he tore his sword out and retreated behind the Darkspawn. With its arm barely hanging onto its body and utterly useless to it now, the General used its other hand to grab onto the mace again, tearing it from its self-created crater. It roared as it glared at the young elf who had successfully landed a crippling blow on his arm. Rage was rapidly filling the General's veins, and his fuse was burning down rapidly.

He and Elissa had arrived only a moment after the portal had been destroyed. Whilst they split up, Elissa heading to the Chantry and Darrian to find the other recruits, they had found even stronger persons of note along the road. Somehow Duncan and his final recruit found their way to Lothering faster than expected. Then again, Ser Gilmore and Duncan were given horses whilst Elissa and Darrian had a head start on foot. Ser Gilmore was at Elissa's side. Where Duncan went, well, Darrian hadn't any idea. He sort of vanished sometime between them arriving at Lothering and engaging in the Logosha. So far Darrian was not impressed with the infamous group. The Darkspawn seemed almost like those men he and Elissa fought before, Arl Howe's men. The General then let out a loud roar and charged the elf.

Darrian needed to be careful. Whilst he hadn't witnessed the effects of the mace first hand, he saw the downed group of his fellow recruits. Whether by mace or other means, he knew the Hurlock before him was not to be played around with. He hadn't expected the Darkspawn to act so soon. Duncan made it seem like they had plenty of time to prepare and head to Ostagar, though at the same time he made sure that they all knew the Darkspawn **would** be there soon enough. The elf decided to favor defensive motions, holding off on doing his normal offensive approach. The Logosha were not to be trifled with, and only a fool would think they could overpower such relentless monsters.

Smoke choked the air around them like a fog of death. Towering pillars of dark smoke also rose high up into the sky, making the once clear blue sky darken like the moods of everyone experiencing the sacking of Lothering. That is what it was. A sacking. Half of the small village was burnt to the ground, the tavern barely standing had caved in on itself and the small stream that passed through the village ran a sickly mixture of red and black. Mixed blood of the Logosha and humans who had given their lives in the village. Darrian would have asked where the Arl was, but there were only two viable possibilities. Either he ran up north to hide behind tall walls, or he had gone south to fight the Darkspawn threat. Whichever he had done, it did not matter. Lothering was nearly destroyed by the Logosha. This would be no normal Blight. Everyone knew that, even Duncan acknowledged it. The Logosha were never open with their offensive attacks. _Never_. Throughout all of known history, there had been little to no mention of them. The only way Duncan found out about them was during an expedition into the Deep Roads. Having heard their chants brought up an opportunity to look it up, and they were mentioned once in the Grey Warden writings of old. Hermits. That's what they were described as. Hermit outcasts of the Darkspawn who followed a human female of immense magical power over all else, even the Archdemon.

Several minutes had passed since the General went into a rampage, and large holes now decorated the ground due to his mace's heavy and unnatural impact. The General had slowly been tiring out and Darrian now switched his stance. He resumed his initial attack and even began to force the General back, a strategy the elf had formed during the rage of the Darkspawn. It had created holes in the ground where the mace had struck the earth. His plan soon left the realm of thoughts and into the realm of action. The General hissed as it tripped and fell onto its back. Before it could move to defend itself, or even use the mace to keep the elf at bay, Darrian had jumped in for the kill. His blade sunk deep within the head of the General, piercing the earth beneath its head, quite obviously sending the Darkspawn back into the abyss where it belonged.

Then the unexpected happened. The Darkspawn's mouth opened and a loud guttural roar was heard before a kinetic burst of raw and visibly dark energy burst from the very body of the General. This sent Darrian flying off of the General, harshly landing a few feet away and on his back. The young elvish man could not move. Whilst he knew he had been breathing, it did not feel like it. In fact, he felt as if he were suffocating despite knowing for a fact that he was getting enough air. His vision darkened before the world completely vanished from his sight. Battle fatigue. Half of the village was now cleared of all Darkspawn threat thanks to the Warden recruits, unless more came over from the opposite side. That was very unlikely, though, given the fact that those who had moved on the orders of their General to attack the Chantry were now surrounded by Templars, adventurers, Elissa, Ser Gilmore, peasants, and Duncan.

The Logosha had begun the battle, and they would also see it finished in the worst imaginable way for them. Failure. Defeat. Death. There was no slaughtering the Templars now that the Warden-Commander had arrived. These Logosha, whilst strong, were nothing like their higher ranks. All but known to them, the Logosha that had been dispatched to raze the village were actually a distraction. A mere symbol to strike fear in the hearts of the refugees who had fled to Lothering from various areas within the darkening Ferelden. A message; no one could hope to escape the Logosha. Those within Lothering were doomed to die ever since they had been handpicked by Gruk. They were picked because they would do significant damage, but were not entirely necessary. They had little accomplishments under their belts and thus Gruk chose them for the suicidal attack on Lothering.

The defenders of the village cut them all down within the Chantry courtyard. Not a single one had made it to the religious building that housed the refugees as well as the women and children of Lothering. Fires had, however. The men of the village were called to fight off the invaders, only because at the time they assumed there would have been a lot more. Duncan had the opportunity to capture the last kill. A Logosha Berserker attempted to go into a rage, but the Warden-Commander decapitated him before he had the chance. Duncan slowly looked about the wreckage, wiping some of the blood and sweat from his forehead.

"Warden!" Ser Maron, a Templar of the Chantry called over to Duncan as he rushed to the Warden-Commander.

"Yes?" Duncan asked as he examined the fallen, awaiting to hear what the Templar had wanted.

The man was breathing heavily, he was no doubt the first Templar to engage in combat with the Logosha. "Your recruits Ser, they're all over on the other side of the bridge, nearest to the tavern where the Darkspawn came from. They're all knocked on the ground and unresponsive, I see no movement from any of them."

All three of them, Duncan, Gilmore, and Elissa heard this. "Thank you for alerting me to this." Duncan replied before he and the two others rushed towards the opposite side of the village.

They crossed the small stream that was more like a cocktail of blood due to the bodies that had fallen around it and bled into it. It was freezing and tainted. That was all any of them knew. That, and when they hit dry ground again it was a godsend. Elissa saw the unconscious Darrian and rushed over to him specifically whilst Ser Gilmore and Duncan moved from recruit to recruit, checking for heartbeats. The recruits would need to be patched up and prepared for the worst. Duncan could sense the Darkspawn presence in the south growing even more than it had been. The Fifth Blight was about to be unleashed. On top of that, the Logosha were just beginning to show themselves to the world as a whole.

"Where is Brosca?" Duncan spoke grimly before spotting a hunched over figure within the stream, rushing over to it.

* * *

_"We have sensed the outcome of the attack on Lothering, High Warchief. Would you wish to know what has become of the human village?" Hyferax, the Hierarch of Intelligence spoke._

_The Darkspawn was wearing black robes with bloodstained linen wraps wrapping around his head and covering his eyes in an 'X' like fashion. Each of the two diagonal strips covered one of his eyes. His lips were black and his complexion even more pale than the normal Darkspawn. Dark tendrils covered across his face much like a corruption. The Logosha were not pretty sights, the most visually appeasing of them being Gruk himself. But, Hyferax was disturbing as far looks went. Had a human seen him they would no doubt need psychological aid lest they fall into insanity. That was the terrifying truth about the Hierarch of Intelligence's power. He was farseeing and much like a fatal omen, driving the fair races to insanity just by catching a glimpse of him._

_"Only the basics, Hierarch. I've no need for details on a mission intentionally picked for failure." Gruk replied with a sigh, looking over at the Commanding Ledge where several Logosha workers had begun repairing his broken throne._

_Hyferax nodded slowly, "Lothering is partly in ruin. Our Emissary and General, however, have died and the humans now seek to clean up the grunts. Thankfully, before their downfall, the Emissary and General had taken out most of the Grey Warden recruits. Only two remain."_

_A dark and chilling grin spread across Gruk's face. The simple and pleased grin turned into maniacal laughter. The Grey Wardens had lost so much, so soon? That was too good! Surely they had not even attempted to examine their recruits like they normally do? Oh, how the Dark Mother would love to hear the news of their success. Now the Grey Wardens were in trouble. The main Darkspawn horde was only one more day away, literally. When the night washes over the surface, the Darkspawn will push into Ostagar and wipe out any who get in their way of northern Ferelden._

_"Good! Return to your hole and pass this word unto the Dark Mother, she will be pleased." The Warchief ordered with another hearty and twisted laugh._

_In the back of his mind Gruk had wondered what the Dark Mother had planned. They had openly defied the Archdemon. Now they were enemies, the Archdemon would have it no other way. Every Logosha warrior knew this. The young, the old, all of them knew. They also sought similar goals as each other, which meant that running into the Archdemon and its forces would be even more likely. That was bad. Nevertheless, the High Warchief watched the Hierarch leave the medical hut in order to carry out his orders. Gruk hoped the Dark Mother was safe. Her plan required her to go into unfriendly territory in order to... make friends?_

* * *

Lord Aedan Cousland oversaw the patrols, reconstruction, and recruitment in the main hall of Castle Cousland. He assumed the position of his late father by taking control of the forces remaining in Highever. Whether it was politically seen as legitimate or not, the young and brilliant man did not care. Right now his house needed to survive, to regain its strength and bring the Howe family to justice. All of them. They had done the unthinkable, and since Arl Howe had killed his family, the young Lord deemed it only fitting that he returned the favor. With the help of the surviving Aldous and the soothing words of Mother Mallol to guide him, Aedan was confident in his abilities to keep Castle Cousland and Highever under control. As he wrote a letter to Bann Loren, he thought about those who had fallen.

Nan, someone who had raised him and kept him fed his entire life. She was someone he and his siblings could always count on, and wished she were around to give him her advice which was always full of wisdom. Dairren. Indeed had the son of Lady Landra and Bann Loren fell in battle. He was a good man and a great friend to Aedan. They had often sparred together in order to test each other and prepare for whatever was to become of them. Oren... how could someone kill a defenseless child? His blood boiled at the memory that had forever been burned into his mind. Oriana, his beautiful sister-in-law... dead. He had to stop thinking on all he had lost. At least Lady Landra was still alive, though mourning her son. Soon the large doors to the main hall were pushed open and a large patrol came marching in with two women with iron shackles around their wrists. He recognized one, but not the other.

"Lord Cousland! We ran across these two in our patrol. As per your orders we captured them and brought them here. Apparently the ashen haired one kidnapped the snake's daughter." A Sergeant stated before having the two prisoners move forward and kneel before Aedan.

He put the quill back into the inkwell and stood up, pushing his chair into the desk before walking over to the prisoners. Their heads were down and they were staring at the floor, or rather, the plate boots Aedan wore. The Lord of Highever examined them, and indeed one had white, ashen hair whilst the other had a more dull black hair.

"I've brought you a present, Lord Cousland..." The ashen-haired woman said with a cool and soothing voice.

"Identify yourselves." Aedan ordered, completely ignoring the woman's statement.

The woman who had spoken before simply looked up at him, her unnatural purple eyes looking up and into his. She was young, younger than her hair color would suggest. Everything about her seemed fabricated. Her hair, her eyes, even her voice seemed too peaceful for his liking. Yet, despite him being skeptical about her, something about the mysterious woman seemingly pulled him in. Intrigued him. Nevertheless, she was now his prisoner and he would have to decide what to do with her.

"My name is Ysil, my Lord." She replied with a sly grin upon her face.

Aedan nodded briefly, an odd and foreign name. It hadn't been one he had heard of before, but, it seemed fitting for her. Never before had he seen a woman with ashen hair and purple eyes, either. He then turned his attention to the silent woman. He knew very well who she was. She was quite the boon, in fact.

"Delilah Howe... Isn't this just the most opportune time for you to come strolling into my lands." The Lord said as he crossed his arms.

The girl began to sob, fearing what may become of her in the care of the angered Cousland. "P-Please, Aedan... I have had nothing to do with my father and his decisions! I tried to warn him against it, but he wouldn't listen to me!"

"Silence." Aedan growled, shutting the woman up as he motioned for a few guards to approach.

Four of his guards marched up to him and stopped, awaiting his orders. "Release Lady Ysil. It is obvious to me that she is not our enemy, yet. Take Lady Delilah to the dungeons, make sure it is a nice yet well secured cell. I will interrogate her later when I have time, and get to the bottom of everything."

"Yes, Lord Cousland." The guards said before carrying out his orders.

One of them retrieved the iron shackles from Ysil's wrists whilst the other three grabbed Delilah and dragged her off to the dungeons to await interrogation. Indeed, it was obvious to Aedan that he was acting harshly and arguably impulsively. The urge to free Ysil drowned out anything else, however, so he had went with his gut and did so. The rather beautiful woman had brought him Delilah Howe, after all. No agent of Howe would do something like that so soon after an attempted takeover which resulted in the death of most of Aedan's family and friends. Aedan spoke no words to Ysil, not until he found himself seated at his desk again.

"So, Lady Ysil. What brings you to Highever? It is no longer a peaceful land, and is very much the opposite. War is brewing in multiple locations, and I fear that you have stumbled into it now." Aedan spoke before taking the quill from the inkwell to resume writing.

The woman smiled before wandering up to the desk, knowing that she was being watched by all of the guards in the main hall. "Actually, that was my intention, my Lord." She stated, "For a long time I've wanted to get to meet you, and to help you in whatever it was you may need. I'm skilled in many things, and knowing that Howe had hurt you by taking away things you loved... I decided to help you do the same, even if it's only one of his family members."

Something seemed familiar about her voice, but Aedan couldn't quite put his finger on it. The overall tone and complexity it had chilled... That's it!

"You've spoken to me before, haven't you, Ysil? You're the disembodied voice that was there within my home." He stated, slowly looking up at her with eyes both angered and curious. "You are the one who killed my family?"

The woman nodded slowly, "That was me, but no... I didn't kill your family. I was merely referring to having captured the Howe girl. I know who did kill your family though, Arl Howe is working with the Darkspawn via some weird... tainted person. I believe their kind are referred to as Ghouls."

Aedan felt his chest and throat tighten. He knew Howe was a relentless and evil bastard, but to work with the Darkspawn? Who in their right mind would do such a thing? That could only ever end horribly. This was a rather urgent matter, and he would have to warn Duncan. Damn, why did the Warden-Commander have to leave so soon? He would wait before sending a letter to Duncan. For now, he had to make sure Iona and Lady Landra were alright.

"Lady Ysil, you may stay in the Castle for a day. You will be able to find food, drink, and a warm bed in the tavern. I want you gone by dawn, understood?" Aedan ordered before signing the piece of parchment, rolling it up, and sealing it.

The woman smiled and bowed, "Yes, thank you, my Lord."

"Dismissed." Aedan said and she slowly turned around and retraced her steps, heading to the entrance to the main hall, whilst Aedan himself left the main hall to find the two women.

An hour had passed before Lady Landra had left with a wagon carrying her son's body and a handful of guards to escort her home. It was the afternoon and the sun was just about to be within the middle of its descent. Iona had decided to stay with Aedan due to their connection, and she knew that he would need someone to rely upon in the days to come. She may not have been a noble, she may not have been a fighter, but she was rather knowledgeable. The elvish woman was just happy that Aedan had accepted her. After all, she was an elf commoner whilst he was a human noble. A Lord of a castle, of an entire piece of Ferelden. Such things would prove to be dangerous, given what most people thought about the elves. Especially in Ferelden.

In her time alone whilst Aedan was working with his advisers and dealing with the ever persistent woman named Ysil, she had cleaned the Lord's room. It had been messy from the struggle that took place during the very early stages of the failed invasion. It was hard work, but she wouldn't be sleeping in a bloodied up and broken room. She highly doubted Aedan would either. She was just finishing up the bed when she felt arms wrap around her, catching her off of her guard and making her jump slightly as she looked back at the perpetrator. It was Aedan who had a weak yet somewhat happy smile on his face. He placed a brief kiss upon her cheek before resting his chin on her shoulder, still embracing her as she placed one of her hands over his.

"I'm glad you've decided to stay... I will need someone to help rule with me." He said happily, enjoying the warmth they were sharing with each other.

Iona let out a soft sigh, "You know that I can't... I'm an elf. The repercussions-"

"Repercussions be damned, I care about you Iona. No amount of human politics will change that. I'm sick of your people constantly being considered lesser despite the fact we all bleed the same, and face the same damned threats. Rule with me... and perhaps together we can bring about a new age. An age where your people are not seen as lesser." He interjected in a stern voice, one that sounded as much irritated as it did protective.

"I... I don't know how to rule, but if you will teach me... okay." The rather shy she-elf replied as she bit her lip.

"Of course... in order to learn, one must first experience." Aedan said as he placed his hand on her cheek, turning her head slightly to face him so that he could place a kiss upon her soft and warm lips.

* * *

_From the tavern the Dark Mother watched the exchange between Aedan and Iona. She frowned and shook her head at the sight and sound. It sickened her greatly to see such things. There was only one person he could ever rule with that she would accept. Herself. _

_"That's no good, young Cousland." She spoke aloud, not that he would be able to hear her from the shadow realm. "Not only is she right about the human political repercussions, but the repercussions of getting on **my** bad side. I'd better work fast before I lose you..." _

_That was the Dark Mother's goal. That was Ysil's goal. To capture Aedan's heart so that together they could rule over the Logosha, and given time, Ferelden. She had witnessed Aedan's tactical mind, his natural power, and his undeniable intelligence. If he had not been in the castle, the outcome of the invasion would have been very different and a lot more people would have died. Though, she had to admit that he had a good taste in who to love. She could sense the elf's legitimacy. 'Iona' truly adored him nearly as much as he adored her. She trusted him, as he did her. She was a weak link. Unlike herself, the Dark Mother, Iona couldn't fight. She couldn't do anything other than be there for when he needed a shoulder to lean on. The elf was pathetic. _

_The Dark Mother's eyes shot open as she sat cross-legged on her bed. A portal had opened directly in the center of her room and soon a Logosha grunt appeared. It bowed before her briefly, straightening up and looking her in the eyes.  
_

_"Dark Mother, the Hierarchs have wished me to bring word to you of the progress at Lothering." It said hastily. _

_She smiled and nodded at her minion, "Speak." _

_"The village is in ruins, though the small force that was sent to do so has been wiped out by the Templars and Warden-Commander. Only two Warden recruits remain, the others have been bested in combat." The grunt spoke with a twisted smile on its face._

_"Good... tell the High Warchief that I am most pleased, and would like him to gather a force on the shore nearest here. I plan to have the Cousland boy with us within the next few days." She ordered the creature. _

_The grunt saluted her and gave her a crisp 'Yes, Mother' before heading back through the portal which dispersed peacefully. She knew the group would have to avoid being seen by the patrols. Otherwise a battle would break out and all hopes to get Aedan on her side would fail. That elf girl would get in her way, though. She was a problem that needed to be eliminated in order to further her plans. If only she were a spirit. Possession would have been much easier than assassination. Wait... she had just realized what she was dealing with. Oh yes... humans, creatures of desire. She wouldn't be needing his complete and utter loyalty. Nor would she be needing to rule **with** him. He could become her pawn, and perhaps even one day he would fall into a position to give her a successor should she die._

_'Grunt...' She said to the Logosha messenger she had spoken to just moments before through the connection all Logosha shared with her. '...Disregard my order. Simply tell Gruk that I applaud his work and wish for him to wait for my further command.'_


	14. Prologue - Chapter 11: Part 1

**Prologue: Betrayal**

_Chapter 11:_ **The Innocent Traitor; An Understanding; Our Last Feast; The Battle of Ostagar**; The Infinite Army; A Regrouping; Oaths; Departure

AN: I hope you all are prepared for the largest chapter posted since 1/8/2015. Have fun, and prepare to read in a few sittings. Also, I cannot wait to see what this year brings us! I hope your holidays were great, and that all is well. Personally, from the end of November to when I write this (12-12-15) I've had A LOT go on. I hope your lives have been less chaotic. Now, get reading trooper! You've a long haul ahead of you!

(12-21-15) Sorry for the incorrect date. Oh well, hope you enjoy!

(12-22-15) Well, it's finally done. I've decided not to edit it, I edited the first parts of The Innocent Traitor fairly well but I just don't have the time. Maybe in the future I'll come back and fix it up, make it shine. But for now, please pardon any incorrect spelling or grammar used in the chapter. This is our longest chapter yet, and the next half will definitely be more shorter than this one. Maybe, more than likely. This was really a big part of the story and despite me getting restless, I think I did a good job laying everything out and there is more to be laid out. Also, sorry for being two days late :P

* * *

**The Innocent Traitor:**

_"Actions performed by one often have the most impact upon another's life. See to it, Lyna, that you do not squander the short amount of time that it may be a boon to you... Because if you waste that time, the boon may shift into a weapon stabbing into your heart." Shadow spoke to the new Grey Warden as she faced her sparring partner. Someone who only went by the title: 'The Giant.' "We've only two days and one night until the bulk of the horde reach the valley beneath the ruins. And even less before the actual fighting begins. The Darkspawn have given us a boon, falon. Let me see how you use it!"_

Ysil laid there on her bed within the local tavern inside of Castle Cousland. Not many people had used it, that much was known. Though that was no doubt due to the fact that only important people were allowed inside the castle, unless it were a day the Teyrn called forth for all subjects to meet him to address the issues of the realm. Otherwise, those that resided within the castle itself were guards or people who had their own places to compensate them for their work within the walls. Her mind drifted to thoughts about that elf girl Aedan was associating himself with. Did that boy not know how bad doing such a thing would be for him? She had to think of a plan to separate them, and it had to be permanent with no possible way back. The woman had spent the entire night planning out what would happen in the next few hours.

It was barely daybreak, and knowing how the nobility of Ferelden worked granted her a special advantage towards her plans. If she tried to confront the Cousland boy now, she would only be met by public interference. His guards would be freshly changed, and being the only thing able to prepare Highever for a small war between the Howe family and his own... it would be foolish to simply state that he would be 'well guarded.' His guards weren't precisely her issue, however, other outside sources were. The most evident of them all being that elvish wench who followed him everywhere he went. She needed to be dealt with. Ysil knew that, only a fool would be ignorant to that simple fact. She just needed to think of a way to separate them, if even for a moment, so that she could set the scene for her downfall.

The Dark Mother's plan, Ysil's plan, was already planned out. All of the pieces were placed together and made airtight so that no mistakes could possibly be made. There was one final piece that she could just not find, however, and that was how to lure them away from one another. Any simpleton could say battle; conflict would be a surefire way to separate them. That would not work in this case, however, as she knew that should she pull something like that... her goal would fall apart rapidly with Howe being the dagger she slit her own throat with. Her diversion had to be something that would keep Aedan somewhat focused, and safe rather than battle which would draw his attention elsewhere and jeopardize his current standing. Her beautiful and bright purple eyes shot open in frustration. She could not think of what could possibly separate them for more than a moment. Iona was there for Aedan. Not the other way around, nor for any other possible reason unless Landra left her behind as an asset to gather information. Regarding that last thought, Ysil couldn't help but let out a giggle. Surely that elvish girl couldn't even comprehend how to play spy.

Another thought crossed her mind; why hadn't she thought of abduction? The answer to that, however, was quite simple. Abduction would not give her the edge she needed in order to shift Aedan's gaze in her own direction. Yes, Ysil could abduct Iona and spread whatever word she wished without anyone being the wiser. But, that did not make her appear as an asset to Aedan, only someone who knew something that he didn't. Perhaps hiring a group of mercenaries under Howe's name would prove useful? To add further to that most intriguing idea, why didn't she just seduce one of his soldiers to do her bidding? In theory it could work, it would just require some powerful persuasion. That, or perhaps if her newly required amulet worked on races other than Darkspawn... That was it! She had so much power at her disposal and she hadn't even taken into account that those very powers may work on things other than the Logosha! She already knew her own powers as well as their weaknesses. Controlling one of the surface races, or even dwarves, would be much like controlling a Darkspawn not of the Logosha. Whilst she had been taught by her mother how to correctly lead the Logosha using their unique blood without the amulet, one thing was for certain; the powers she now held over the Logosha were nothing compared to the power the Archdemon held over regular Darkspawn. Furthermore, whilst controlling the Logosha was harder, they were still very much different from the rest of the massive body of Darkspawn. The other more fair races were individuals, however, and there was no telling how they would handle it. Her own thought made her frown, however, as she realized what such a thing would require. She'd have to leave Castle Cousland for quite some time in order to find people to test her powers upon. If they were successful, then she could begin with her plan and perhaps even more. If her powers were not successful on the more 'fair' races, however, it would prove to be most problematic as she would have literally wasted all of that time.

Without another word she got up off of her bed and rushed outside of the room. She ran through the rather small and cramped hallway, down the stairs, and through the exit of the small inn. She had no time to waste, and would prefer to be back within the Castle as its Lord's adviser within the next four days, with less than one day being preferable. Once she had left the castle she knew exactly where her next destination would be. The village that was not too far from the walls of Castle Cousland. She could test her power out on common folk, then sneak into the prison to test it on more hardened and prepared minds. Stealth was something that came easily to Ysil, perhaps too easily. Besides, were she ever in a pinch the Logosha would be all over her pursuers within a minute's time. Not that she would require their aid if she were in the prison due to her powers working...

Her previous thoughts from the night before regarding Aedan were wrong, she now had the clear mindset to admit that. Sure, having him as a mere pawn would have its benefits, but to have him willingly trust her and act for her would out weigh the benefits of another pathetic minion. Ferelden, if she could manage to have Aedan to herself, very well could be within her grasp. It would just require careful maneuvering and planning to achieve. Iona was the first of many steps she would have to take in order to secure her place upon the throne of an entire kingdom. To secure their place on their rightful thrones. With the Logosha, the Cousland's slowly recovering army and those who align themselves with Aedan... little would be able to stand in their way. The Logosha being their greatest asset, as they were completely loyal to the Dark Mother and the one whom she chose to make her partner. Though, even in that case their loyalty was ultimately still with her. As was the case during her own father's corruption, they sided with the future Dark Mother than the current High Warchief. It was a thought that kept Gruk awake at night, as he knew his place among the people he ruled should he act out against Ysil. Not that he would ever do that, they were close to inseparable ever since she was a young girl and he a mere grunt.

* * *

It hadn't been long until she reached the small village. She saw many scurrying about to do their daily deeds, as well as communicate with the guards who were sent to protect all of them. Believe it or not, that fact alone had made her job easier than it should have been. With everyone outside and working, if she could find someone staying inside, perhaps a shop owner, she could get to work sooner than anticipated. In truth she had expected complications for when she reached the village, not completely understanding what it was like to live as Ferelden's common folk. She had been taught how the nobility worked. She had been taught how to maneuver around cities without suspicion, even how to communicate with Lords like Aedan. Never before, though, had she been taught what the lives of peasants were like. She did not know what to act, or even how to blend in with them.

When she had entered the town she had expected the few stares she had received. It probably wasn't too rare for strangers to wander through the village, but when it was only a few days after an invasion she could understand their increased curiosity and worry. She spoke no words, nor made any eye contact in response to their own. That wasn't exactly her way, and it would have proved counterproductive to perform in any form of engagement with the people. She was in that village for one sole purpose, and if she could succeed in that purpose soon all would be well within the day. Rather than the week, or month; time that she knew she did not have.

Without another thought she walked over to the village's tavern and pushed open the metal door. Ysil was greeted with nothing out of the ordinary, a pair of two standing behind the counter of the bar. Whilst she didn't know everything about the culture of the surface, she took an educated guess that they were in charge of the place. This was further proven to her when the middle aged woman smiled at her, the younger boy no more than sixteen years of age preparing to carry out commands.

"Welcome! Isn't often we get newcomers entering our little tavern." The woman said with a soothing voice, one that reminded Ysil of her mother's.

She noted that the boy's eyes scanned her over, in a fashion that almost made her curious as to his past. It wasn't in a common and friendly way, there was something about the way his eyes scanned her that hinted towards predatory instincts. Ysil didn't let her mind linger on the fact for too long. The child had probably never seen any women other than the peasants of the village as well as its guards. If his attention turned more ill than good, he would learn to acknowledge his place in her presence.

"Thank you, kind lady." Ysil spoke with her voice sounding warm, and soft. "How much gold for one night's stay, and the day's meals?"

"Oh! Only fifteen gold coins is all for that. Nothing too expensive compared to prices of villages further out than us. Thirty if you want the entire upstairs, which is like a miniature house." The woman replied with a bright smile appearing on her face. "Have you eaten yet, dear?"

Ysil shook her head as she grabbed her coinpurse, setting it on the bar as she took her seat. "No, I've not had the chance to get anything in my stomach since yesterday morning. I've been busy up in the castle." She informed them as she opened up the pouch that held her coins, picking exactly thirty gold coins from the black leather pouch and stacking them on the bar.

The boy's eyes glistened with curiosity as he looked at the white-haired woman. "You've been up and inside Castle Cousland? Who are you, I haven't heard nor seen you around these parts before."

The woman, whom Ysil could only assume was his mother, smacked his lips in a scolding manner. "It's rude to ask patrons about their business. Now go get her some food and drink, boy."

"Y-Yes, mother." He whimpered in response, his right hand idly coming up to touch his stinging lips.

Without another word leaving the boy's mouth, he turned and rushed off towards the kitchen to do as he was ordered. Before he disappeared, the Dark Mother caught the peasant's watery eyes. For how many years had his mother acted with an abusive hand towards him, Ysil wondered. She watched as the lady put away the gold and nodded at her.

"Sorry about him, like I've said; we haven't exactly gotten many outside visitors, so he doesn't know how to act properly. While your food cooks, why don't I show you your quarters?" The Innkeep asked with a smile.

Ysil nodded somewhat grimly, "That would be most appreciated." She stated with the right side of her lip curling into what was a seemingly innocent grin.

The two of them then departed from the bar, and as they moved towards the stairs to the side of the building Ysil got a good look around. It was a large building, larger than what she had anticipated from the outside. It had several rooms downstairs, and from what the lady had told her, the upstairs was more or less a house of its own. Probably to hold important persons, or those who were rich enough to afford it.

"The last person who paid for this 'room' was found to be an informant to that traitor, Howe. The soldiers grabbed onto him, and I've never seen a body contort in such a way as it fell down the stairs. It was rather traumatizing, if I hadn't seen worse in me life." The black haired Innkeeper said as the two of them walked up the twelve steps to the second floor. "I trust you aren't aiding that, or any other traitors to the Couslands? The Teyrn and Teyrna didn't deserve to die, and Aedan didn't deserve to have everything dropped on his shoulders alone."

"I agree, and that is actually what I am here to address. I trust you won't tell anyone, but I've been running around all over Highever to ensure our young Lord is informed of any movements made by his enemies." Ysil stated once they reached the door that the Innkeeper unlocked with a key that she then handed towards

The woman nodded as Ysil took the key, "That's good. He's going to need all of the help he can get. We've a lot of our children to mourn, Lord Fergus took a large majority of the army down south to fight Darkspawn and I was sure that Highever would be in Howe's hands when the attack began. Luckily our 'young Lord' has a natural talent for battle. A few of 'em came down here to recruit me son but I turned them away. He's worthless, all he's good for is doing work 'round here."

A lie. Brilliantly put to anyone other than Ysil, but the Dark Mother could sense the potential the boy represented. He was strong, and smart in ways that would get him farther out in the world than his mother gave him credit for.

"Well, here you are. Feel free to look around, your breakfast should be done in a short while." The Innkeeper said before starting to walk down the stairs again.

Before Ysil entered her small room, she looked down at the descending woman and quickly called out to her. "Could you please have my breakfast sent up here? I am quite tired and don't want to make another trip down for quite awhile."

"Of course, dear." The Innkeeper said without looking back.

The Dark Mother took a brief moment to examine the small area she was in now. Indeed it was cramped, and had a single torch to light up the entry way to her quarters. There was nothing else there, just the steps and the small square space she was in. Ysil didn't wait a second longer and walked inside of her quarters, closing the door behind her. She was pleasantly surprised by the look of the place, no normal inn would be able to have such a room within it. That told her that supplies were being brought to this village steadily, and that costs weren't exactly an issue for the people living here. Well, they were no doubt raised to keep up with the economy, or else they would have had it too easy within this village. Whatever the case, the building's interior seemed to have changed as soon as she entered her quarters. Everything was so clean and tidy, it was as if she had entered a house with servants tending to it. Now the waiting game began, whilst she told the truth and was indeed hungry... each moment she could acquire with that boy would be a moment worthy of her attention. So young, so impressionable, hardened physically by what was no doubt years of abuse... His allegiance could prove to be useful to her. All she would have to work on would be his mental state. Insanity or any mental issue that created a fragile mindset, whilst useful for disposable manpower, was not good for those she had prolonged plans for.

* * *

Hours had passed. The morn had passed into high noon. Noon had passed into the later parts of the day, and they had turned into night. She had spoken frequently with the young boy she had met. In the short time she had gotten to know him, he had shared with her his past as well as what he aspires to be. The woman downstairs was not actually his parent, but rather the stepmother he was left with when his mother passed away. She was apparently murdered, but the boy known as Thomas swore it was the stepmother. The innkeeper was apparently named Alison, but that information wasn't exactly something Ysil cared about. Thomas' father apparently passed away in service to the Couslands during a Dalish attack on a caravan he was assigned to guard. After his father died when he was at the young age of five, his stepmother took over and worked him often to complete exhaustion. He was beaten if he so much as spoke without first being addressed first.

Since the boy slept in the cellar of the inn whilst Alison left to live in the home left to her by Thomas' father, Ysil offered for him to join her upstairs. She had plenty of room, and her quarters had two bedrooms. Not that them going to sleep that night was her intent. There were two guards downstairs hired by Alison to watch over the inn until morning, whilst one villager she had employed took over the nightly activities. It occurred to Ysil right away that she let the boy sleep not because of pity, but because an overworked servant is not a very good one. Her true intent for inviting him upstairs would be to gain his allegiance.

Despite the power that she had at her disposal, she preferred people to obey her with their own will. Unless, of course, she was intending to kill them. Then she would take their will from them and let them watch from within their head whilst their lives end. Her thoughts were halted there when she heard some small knocks on her door. She knew who it was as his presence was one she had memorized.

"Come in!" She called out from the living room of her 'home.'

The door was then opened briefly and shut in mere seconds. She heard his quiet footsteps until eventually the nervous boy appeared in front of her, wearing cleaner clothes than she had seen on him before. He must have changed before heading up there to meet her, not that she could really blame him. He looked as if he had been through a violent and dirty battle. Ysil smiled and motioned for him to join her on the small wooden, yet cushioned couch.

As he took his seat she spoke to him, "You remember what I told you? How I am a part of a group that could train you and allow you to get revenge on Alison?"

She had refrained from calling the Innkeeper his mother, or stepmother, due to the anger it caused within him. Just mentioning her by name allowed Ysil to feel his anger build up. He would be a most interesting man to accept into the Logosha's ranks. One of the first, and perhaps the Warchief of the foreign army she sought to create with the help of Aedan.

"Y-Yes... You said they would be here and you would show me a glimpse of the p-power you hold..." He stuttered nervously, his mind and body acting defensively.

"Indeed, and please relax Thomas. I will not bring harm to you." Ysil said softly before looking towards the center of the room, as did the boy.

As they gazed towards the burning fire that was contained by the fireplace, it died and darkness moved quickly over the entire room. A bright purple light was seen, magical in its form as it swirled around a dark core that expanded. Plate was heard as if it were in the same room, as well as the sounds of thousands of voices chanting... though the voices were like whispers and spoke only one word: Logosha. Gruk was the first to walk through the portal, his blood red eyes penetrating the soul of the boy who had a fearful expression on his face. Once he stopped completely the fire roared back to life with its flame bright purple. Six other Logosha walked out of the portal, all Hurlocks and each of them with symbols carved into their foreheads in a 'scar-tattoo.' Each representing a word that defined them. Greed, Wrath, Hatred, Vanguard, Guardian, and Mischief. Their identity. With these six Hurlocks were also the branding marks that covered their entire necks to represent the legions they were apart of. Wrath and Hatred were a part of the common infantry legion led by General Lisreg the Relentless and multiple others, ultimately being commanded by the Hierarch of Defense and Gruk. The dominant symbol being that of a Blight Wolf. Greed and Mischief were a part of the All-Seeing Legion led by Chief Scout Jor the Invisible, ultimately being commanded by Saerxs, the Hierarch of Intelligence. Their symbol being that of a completely open eye. Guardian was with the Legion of Defense, led solely by Hierarch Syferax himself. The dominant symbol being a sword and shield, with the sword crossing over the shield. Lastly, Vanguard was a part of Gruk's legion, only known as 'The Vanguard.' Of course this meant that only Grux controlled the Vanguard. Their symbol was indescribable, but resembled a deep-sea creature. They were the best of the best, and that was perhaps why Gruk and Vanguard both appeared to be a lot stronger and better equipped than the others.

"D-Darkspawn?! But how?!" Thomas asked with worry.

"We are not Darkspawn, human. We are better, we are the Logosha." Gruk replied with a snarl in his voice, the portal disappearing as soon as Greed stepped through completely.

"I am their Dark Mother, Thomas. They follow me, and me alone. Unlike the Darkspawn you speak of, they are somewhat accepting of the other races. Humans, elves, dwarves... mostly humans and elves though. And you should not worry, they do not spread the corruption like other Darkspawn. They've been severed from a lot of things, and that is how I am allowed to live among them each and every day. They wish to protect and bring order to Ferelden, with Aedan and myself in charge." She informed the young man to calm him, which it seemed to have worked.

In truth, not even the Logosha were incapable of spreading the corruption. They just had more control over it than other Darkspawn, and it allowed them to truly mask their presence against the Grey Wardens. It was an ability they had used countless times, but when they needed to they could channel the corruption into a prisoner who was pound and unable to intervene. It was much like a ritual they performed, but Thomas did not need to know these things. Not until he grew used to working with what he no doubt thought of as monsters.

Hatred smirked with his sharp and yellow teeth being shown through his cracked, black lips. "The Dark Mother says you are to be trained by the High Warchief himself, human whelp. You should be honored, especially since you have a choice to be the first of your kind among us. Beside us."

"Indeed." Gruk added.

"I... I will have power?" Thomas asked, "Revenge?"

Ysil nodded slowly, "You will command hundreds of men, and you will be backed by thousands. No one will be able to stand in your way, and that dreadful woman will be the first target you wipe out if you so wish."

"But you must know, human, such power does not come without difficult work and the payment of time, as well as blood. You are a peasant in the eyes of the surface world, and to us your bones are easily shattered. We must change that if you are to lead an army in the name of the Dark Mother." Gruk growled before looking over at the door, hearing movement on the wooden stairs.

The woman grinned as she placed a comforting hand upon Thomas' shoulder, "Hatred, Wrath... seize everyone who is within the tavern. I wish to test how far my power extends."

"Dark Mother." They both stated simply and went to leave the room before Ysil called over to them again.

"And boys... Do so quickly and quietly. I do not wish for anyone to hear what is going on inside. If they do, our efforts here in the north will come to a stop and you will be punished." She concluded.

Without another word the two Logosha did as they were ordered to, and opened the door of her room and rushing down the stairs. Noises were indeed heard, but Hatred and Wrath moved quickly and no one outside would have been alerted to any suspicious sounds. Those who were downstairs and in the open never saw what was coming after them. All they saw was a flash of darkness within the lit tavern before they were knocked unconscious.

"Gruk, search the rooms and Greed, lock the door. I've a feeling those two brutes didn't fully understand my command."

The two of them acknowledged the order before heading out of the room, leaving Thomas and the Dark Mother herself alone with Guardian, Vanguard, and Mischief. "Mischief, I am going to create a portal back to our home. I would like for you to have Hierarch Syferax dispatch some useless grunts through the portal I am opening. Ten in total. No more, no less. I have a plan for them."

"Your will be done, Mother." Mischief said as he crossed both of his arms in front of his chest, a proper Logosha salute.

Thomas hadn't expected any of what he was witnessing. Talking Darkspawn, disciplined Darkspawn, all of that plus an offer that was incredibly hard to refuse. Only an idiot would turn down such an offer, and he had a gut feeling if he did something unpleasant would happen to him. Whether it be a loss of memory, or even death... neither was something he looked forward to. So, they would make him into a leader and warrior? He'd have power over men, and would even be able to avenge his true mother? He watched as Ysil made the portal whilst she sat down, apparently it didn't demand a lot from her to do so. Either that, or she was used to the necessary payments she had to make in order to cast such a... was it a spell? She was a mage? A Maleficar? Or merely an Apostate?

"What do you plan to do up here?" Thomas asked, "I would have an honest answer before I sign onto anything."

His request caught Ysil's attention, though the two remaining Logosha just walked to the doorway to take their place as guards. "What ever do you mean, Thomas?" She asked in that soothing voice of hers.

"What are your plans up here in Northern Ferelden? Surely you want something here?" He continued.

Ysil chuckled softly, "If you are to be one of my many Generals, it is only fitting I tell you of my plans. Especially since it hits close to your home. You no doubt know of the recent attack on Castle Cousland, the one that left a single young man in charge? Well, he and all of the lands he owns are constantly threatened due to their weakened state. He needs more forces to protect everything he owns, and to make matters worse he is falling deeper into a pathetic crush he has with an elf. The way I see it, he won't get anything under control unless something changes. He needs the manpower, I can provide more than expendable soldiers, I can provide him an experienced and disciplined army that can easily dwarf any other in the matter of months. He needs guidance, and I can give him that. He needs someone at his side who can actually be of use, not some Elvhen peasant who will only get him into more trouble than she's worth."

Thomas' eyes widened at the information he was receiving. Lord Cousland was doing something with an elf? Not to mention, all elves were more or less peasants... Whilst Thomas himself was of low birth, even he knew that what Aedan was doing was ridiculous. The political backlash for doing something with a commoner alone would be strong, but an elf? By the Maker, anyone could use that to make the young Lord's claims illegitimate and severely hinder his new hold on his family's lands.

"And your plan to make you fall closer to him?" The young man asked.

"I will make her a traitor to Ferelden, and more importantly, to him. I will take that information to Lord Cousland himself, show him the proof, and even give him a taste of all that I could provide for his personal and public benefits." Ysil stated, and Thomas accepted that as enough knowledge.

He nodded at her slowly, "What must I do to sign on?" He inquired.

"First you must wait for Gruk to arrive back here, he and the other Logosha you have met will escort you to Syferax. You will begin a six month training regiment with the other Logosha grunts, and when you are finished with that I will meet you there. Then you will swear your unbreakable oath to me, stating that your life is mine to do with what I please. It is only fair, after all, I will be making you into what you will become. Third, I will supply you with a fresh and large group of recruits. You, along with other Logosha, will train them whilst the ultimate power goes to you to maintain them. Your army will be separate of the Logosha, and you must acknowledge that. Whilst the Hierarchs and I control the Logosha armies, you will control that one and report to me personally. Until I get Lord Cousland on board, that is." She informed him with a smile. "You are not making a mistake, Thomas."

"I know- uh... erm... What should I address you as?" He asked with curiosity in his voice.

The Dark Mother grinned, "Just call me Ysil, Thomas. I may be the Dark Mother of the Logosha, but for you I will make a rare exception. Especially since you will be the First General of the Surfacer Legions. I also see the potential within you... and I will make certain that Syferax unlocks it. Now, if you will excuse me I have some prisoners to experiment on." She said and gave him a small bow before leaving the room.

The sight was marvelous, oh yes, exquisitely so! It hadn't been an occurrence in her entire life where she was on the surface, in a building, with her warriors holding a group of surfacers hostage. As she walked down the stairs all of their heads turned to her, their mouths covered with cloth ripped either from their clothing or bedding. Once she was situated comfortable in front of all of them, a large amount of Logosha grunts poured from the room.

"Gruk, you and those who came with you are dismissed for now. He prepared as I'm going to have more work for you soon enough." She ordered.

The High Warchief nodded, "Yes, Dark Mother. Everyone report back to the portal."

"You are to take Thomas to Hierarch Syferax, dearest Warchief of mine. He needs training, and quickly if we hope to have a footing in the north before Urthemiel's horde arrives." She said hastily.

The Logosha Warchief said nothing and simply turned around, leading his men up the stairs and into the room they had came from. The large amount of Logosha were numerous, definitely more than the ten she had ordered. If she had to guess, there were at least thirty grunts at her command. Useful.

Her eyes began to glow bright purple, and she looked upon the weeping and fearful men and women that had been gathered on the main floor. Six in total, all adults. More men than women, with only two ladies being present. One of them was more than likely the barmaid while Thomas' stepmother was away. Such details were of the sort Ysil cared little for.

"Look upon me, humans. Examine my beautiful power, and obey." She commanded with a tone most cursing to hear.

Four of the six did as she had commanded, including the two women, but all six were met with something they hadn't expected. With the eyes of the amulet around her neck glowing the same as her own eyes, whispers were heard amongst them. Tempting whispers, whispers telling them to commit sins against all they had ever known and held to be the law of the Maker. Murder was the most prominent whisper. Whilst it had appeared that Ysil's power had gone awry, causing madness within the human subjects she had before her... It was actually going quite well. She was feeding them madness without directly commanding them. It would be much like torture, really, hearing whispers that slowly drove you mad. Whilst she did this, Ysil had pondered how far her powers went. Without the amulet she could control the entirety of the Logosha. With the amulet, she could overwhelm at least one Darkspawn's personal connection to the Archdemon; such was the case with the Voice. But... could she command humans without the amulet? She didn't know, and she would never take off the amulet. In the unlikely event of her death, she had a backup plan formed so that no one could ever get their hands onto the relics of power she held. Something her foolish mother didn't think of.

She waved her hand across the cloth bindings that held a middle aged man, burning it away and freeing him. Doing so allowed him to clutch his head whilst he wept in pain, but the Dark Mother had other plans for him.

"Stop crying." She had ordered and slowly the man started to do her bidding. "Kill the rest."

Ysil had recognized the man. He was one of the patrolling guards, not that there were many in the village. Most guards were stationed at Castle Cousland in order to keep it secure from any attack. Another sign of Aedan's weakness, he truly couldn't protect even the closest villages with his limited man power.

"With your hands, snap their necks." She hissed, and the man who had briefly put up a mental fight caved in.

He stood up, and with the others having been released of their torment... they saw one of the men who were supposed to protect them, instead kill them off one by one. Ysil held her hand out towards one of the grunts, and immediately hearing the mental call she had passed to him, the Logosha handed her his blade. With it she took a few steps forward before stabbing the man in the chest, releasing her control over him just in time for him to groan. Any other sounds he attempted to make were drowned out by him choking on his own life force. Ysil handed the Darkspawn back its weapon and sighed. Now that the testing had been successful, the next phase of her plan was to begin. Kidnapping and framing the elf girl, playing savior, and ultimately winning over Aedan's trust. When she took the time to observe the grunts, she smiled widely.

"It would seem dear Syferax got my message. He even made you look the part!" She said to the nearest Darkspawn.

"Mother?" He asked in curiosity.

She giggled before placing both of her hands on his cheeks, something that didn't seem normal in the slightest for any creature that looked like a human. "You all look just like the Darkspawn wastes of flesh controlled by the Archdemon! You're the perfect bait! I can run from you to inform Lord Cousland of an attack on his village whilst some of my mercenaries protect the villagers! While he's distracted with that, I'll arrange control of- Oh, but none of you need to know that! I love you Syferax!"

Other Logosha got twisted looking grins on their faces, usually when someone was coddled it was a mocking gesture. Unfortunately for all of them, if she could do the same to each and every one... she would. But they were mere grunts and didn't know any better. They knew they were going to end up being the first ones to die, and death didn't phase any of the Logosha. Which made suicide missions such as the ones they were one look like nothing more than another day.

"Now! In a little bit I want you to charge through those doors, and I want you to attack everything in sight. Got it?" She asked.

"Yes, Dark Mother." They all said quietly, knowing that they couldn't give away their presence.

Ysil smiled, "Good boys. Now, die well." She said before snapping her fingers.

Such a small action created something rather large in scale, at least as far as the normal world was concerned. A portal briefly opened up, swallowed her, and then she was gone. No trace of her left. An impressive feat, and not one many could perform. In fact, it almost seemed to be as if she were a demon of some kind, though that was far from the truth. Powerful by birth, trained intensely over many years of her life, and with all that greatness amplified by relics... her true amount of power was incomprehensible.

The Dark Mother decided to mix her plan up a bit, in order to have a bit of fun. It was a rather odd swap of plans two and three, making three the new two and two the new three. She cloaked herself in the shadows through means of her magical power, and saw that Aedan was busy ordering his men around and preparing for any kind of assault on Castle Cousland. That was good. It was fairly late, and if she could recall correctly her mother had said pampered surfacers usually were asleep around this time. It was after midnight, of course, and so she used one teleportation spell which landed her in Aedan's chambers.

* * *

"Gruk, prepare sixty of your Vanguard. Wear your best armor and make certain you are fully covered. Lord Cousland is getting a new powerful ally. Meet me on the outskirts of the village you were just at in about... ten minutes." She ordered the High Warchief, knowing he would not fail her. "And do make sure to show your allegiance to Lord Cousland."

With her commands having been relayed to Gruk, she moved forward into the Lord's chambers towards the side of the bed the elf was fixing up. Her eyes glowed bright purple again, and the glow caught Iona's attention. The sudden and rather unannounced appearance of the woman was enough to make the elvhen jump. With Ysil's eyes glowing brightly, it was evident to Iona that she was now cornered by some kind of sorceress.

"Dear sweet Iona, why such the distortion of your face? Lord Cousland would not approve, surely. Remove it from your face at once." The Dark Mother hissed, the venom in her voice indicating a hatred for the elf.

Iona didn't respond, not until she made eye contact with the dragon amulet the strange woman from before wore around her neck. The amulet seemed to force her eyes to meet Ysil's as she continued her approach.

"M-My apologies." Iona said in a whisper, her worried expression leaving her face into a more neutral one.

Ysil slowly placed the back of her hand on Iona's cheek, stroking it slowly. "I've a job for you, dear sweet Iona." She stated, disregarding the information her control over Iona's mind granted her. Much like the others in the tavern, she had no use of the elf's personal life and past.

"You are to sneak out of Castle Cousland, and meet Darkspawn at the shore. You are to give them orders on how to get into and attack those within this very castle. You are also to give them information on how to infiltrate Caer Oswin. You have no other allegiance than to the Archdemon Urthemiel and his Darkspawn horde." She ordered in a whisper lest anyone be within hearing range.

Iona nodded, "Yes, mistress."

"Now go. You will remember nothing of my presence." Ysil said at last, watching as the elf lady-in-waiting carried out her new orders.

The Dark Mother smirked, her plan was now set in motion and Iona would be meeting with some of the Logosha Grunts that were dispatched in the village. They still strongly resembled normal Darkspawn, which is why they were so easily abused. Young Logosha that were untrained were quite literally just like any other Darkspawn, and since they came in abundance they were thrown around for an easy solution for certain objectives. She used her teleportation once more to meet up with Gruk and his small force of sixty.

* * *

The Dark Mother appeared at the outskirts of the Cousland Village, darkness shrouding around her in a ghostly presence until it settled upon her body. She was now cloaked in literal darkness that added to her aura of terror. Behind her was Gruk and his sixty Logosha, half of the Vanguard now marching upon the soil of the surface. Something they had wanted to do for years. They stopped behind her, and Gruk walked to Ysil's side.

"Your Vanguard is ready, Dark Mother." The High Warchief informed her. The Vanguard referred to themselves as one body, and to an extent they were.

They were all wearing black plate armor that covered them completely. What the armor couldn't cover, darkened chainmail and clothes under the armor did. On their helmets was the purple eye, a new symbol they used to signify who their true leader was. On their right shoulder plates were the symbol of the Vanguard, a strange creature that looked as if it had belonged in the sea. On their chest plate was a new insignia; the seal of Highever. On their left shoulder were their ranks which were carved into it, and likewise branded upon their left shoulders. Gruk, having been bred to lead, had no mark upon his shoulder until recently. That was because he was not set into a specific legion. He willingly had a 'Y' carved into the armor and onto his shoulder so that it would never be able to get removed from him. He owed complete loyalty to the Dark Mother he had trained with when they were young.

Pillars of smoke arose in the distance and they could see the fires being lit by the grunts. "Take the village." She muttered quietly before the Vanguard simultaneously stomped their feet on the ground once.

It was a loud sound, plate moving to be stomped upon the ground. The action alone made the ground vibrate slightly. Then began the roaring of Gruk, and the loud sound of plate armor upon sixty running bodies. The cloak of darkness around the Dark Mother flowed in the wind as she began walking with Gruk at her side. Between the natural wind and that of the running Logosha, it was quite breezy outside.

"You did tell them to leave the villagers alone and offer assistance, right?" Ysil asked Gruk as they walked towards the village.

The High Warchief snorted, "Of course. The Vanguard is not an army of simple minded whelps, Ysil."

The Dark Mother raised an eyebrow, but then giggled as she realized no one was around to hear Gruk's breaking of formality. "Still the same old Gruk, I see."

"You always said I could address you informally, so I choose to do so whenever I can." The Logosha stated with a shrug as they now entered the village. No more talking would be done. At least not until the battle was over.

Thirty minutes had passed until the Grunts within the village were slaughtered, and another fifteen had passed until Aedan and his men arrived on scene. What they saw was unexpected, to say the least. Corpses of Darkspawn that far north was surprising, but an unknown force had destroyed the threat and tended to the needs of the villagers in faster time than Aedan himself could. They didn't seem hostile, in fact, they didn't even budge when the Lord and his men arrived. They simply made way.

"Who is your leader? I demand to speak to him." Aedan asked one of the Logosha, acknowledging the symbols on their armor with curiosity.

Soon Ysil found her way up to the Lord, shrouded in her cloak still. She lowered her hood and smiled at him, though his eyes only widened.

"Hello, Lord Cousland." She said happily.

She was leading them? Aedan certainly hadn't expected that... He also remembered her offer earlier. She was definitely trying her hardest to get him to accept it.

He let out a soft sigh, "I thought I told you to leave..."

"You did. And I followed your orders, I left the castle. I was here until I ran to get my men when those Darkspawn arrived. There was no time to make it to the castle, and I am sorry for that. But what we've found out is much more serious and I urge you to hear me through..." Ysil begged, a worried look upon her face.

Aedan nodded, starting to trust the woman. After all, she had helped him multiple times that day alone. It was hardly even night. She handed him a letter that was signed by a 'chief scout' of her mercenary group.

"Apparently some of the Darkspawn scattered and went to the shore. My scout saw this and sent this back to my main force, apparently a blonde haired elvish woman is meeting with them. If I'm guessing correctly, it may already be going on." Ysil reported quickly.

Aedan felt his heart freeze and his breathing stop temporarily. His mind flashed to Iona, the elf that had said she was going to take a nap. That was an hour ago now. Surely she wouldn't betray him. Not with all she had said. It had to be another elf. It was just a coincidence that whomever this elvish woman was, she closely matched how one would describe the lady-in-waiting.

"Where on the shore?" Lord Cousland asked as he shook his head to dismiss his conflicting thoughts.

Ysil shrugged, "I'm not sure. Somewhere between here and Castle Cousland, I'd guess."

"Very well, gather some of your men and I'll gather mine. We'll head down there while the rest work on assisting the villagers." The young Lord said before immediately turning to his men and picking four from the crowd. To make sure he didn't feel overwhelmed, Ysil chose the same amount of Logosha... which included Gruk himself.

* * *

It was only a ten minute rush to the shore before they were observing what was happening down on the beach that was shrouded in moonlight. Sure enough, Aedan had observed the woman to be Iona and physically appeared distressed. How could she have done that to him? Why would she do that in the first place?! Darkspawn were monsters, and had no sense of reasoning. To work with them was working with those who wanted you and your entire world dead. Gone. Destroyed. More importantly, it meant she was working with Howe! Three Darkspawn were all that were there. Or at least, they were all that were visible. She was foolish, especially to think that they'd protect her if she were ever discovered to be the traitor she was.

"Lord Aedan, we should send our men forward to capture and kill them. She's working with the Darkspawn which means she's just as much of a threat to us as they are. It could also be an ambush." Ysil suggested as she and Aedan stood there, observing the exchange.

Her soothing voice pulled Aedan from his thoughts, and he nodded slowly. His pained expressions turning into those born from betrayal and anger. His men stood at the ready, as did Ysil's.

"I wish when we had met earlier I'd have taken your offer. I shouldn't have doubted you, Lady Ysil." He growled, turning to look at her with his gaze meeting her own. As he did so, he swore he saw a bright purple light flash across both of her eyes.

He disregarded the curious occurrence and looked on at the small group on the beach, "Men! Kill the Darkspawn and leave the traitor for me. I wish to be her executioner." The young Cousland had ordered, sending his men and by extension, Ysil's men upon the beach.

Iona turned around and held a sword given to her by the Darkspawn, whilst they themselves charged the incoming force of eight. Ysil's men were superior to Aedan's, and that was obvious as they ran faster in plate than his soldiers did in lighter armor. When the three Darkspawn clashed with the four Logosha, the latter showed their dominance and pummeled through them. They were inexperienced, and quickly fell to the swords of the Vanguard. Once they were finished ensuring the death of the Darkspawn, they turned and glared at Iona who rushed at them. Gruk let out a boisterous laugh, it was an entertaining sight.

Once she was within arms reach of him, Gruk quickly slammed his hand against the wrist of the elvish lady who held the sword. His grip was tight, so tight that her wrist popped and she dropped the sword as she let out a scream of pain. Without hesitation, the High Warchief and leader of the Vanguard quickly kneed her in the gut to shut her up. It worked, and he let her fall backwards onto the ground to lose the air in her lungs.

Aedan was in awe at what he had seen. Three Darkspawn had been slaughtered in a mere three minutes, and Iona subdued just as his men arrived. How was such a thing possible?!

"Y-Your men are impressive, Lady Ysil." He stated in amazement.

Ysil nodded, "Thank you, my Lord. They are well trained, and with a small price to pay they will be yours. The sixty you saw in the village don't even touch our true numbers."

"What are your true numbers?" He asked.

The woman simply chuckled, "Accept my offer and give me some time, and I'll tell you."

Aedan sighed, "What is the full extent of your offer?"

"Allow me to rule with you, together we could save Ferelden from all of this discord. And in return... my personal power, the power of my army... all will be pledged to serve you and protect all you own. You've not even witnessed the full extent of my soldiers' power." Ysil spoke in a tempting, almost seductive voice.

Aedan nodded and began to walk towards the shore, "We shall see. I'll allow you to rule partially with me for a time, and if I like your advice, we will talk about making it solidified more when the proper time comes. For now, we have a traitor to deal with." His words made the Dark Mother smile, and she walked with him as they made their way to the shore where the weeping Iona was being held.

As they approached the elf looked up at Aedan, disbelief in her eyes until she looked at the mysterious woman she had seen only once before. "A-Aedan..." She cried, "...W-What's going on?"

"You will address me as Lord Cousland, traitor. You know what you did and your punishment will be death. I will not put Ferelden at risk because of my foolish feelings for a traitorous wretch." Aedan growled as he readied his sword and raised it to strike her down.

Before he could get any further than that, however, Ysil placed her hand on the face of the blade and gently pushed it down. "Now, now, my Lord. It would be foolish of you to do such a thing. You should send word to her masters, have them make way for the castle. Her death should be by their hands within your presence, or else you will look like a leader who wants the power all to himself. Send her to the dungeons with a few of my men as guards. We will make sure she does not escape, and that she knows the error of her ways." She said smoothly, her voice like a whisper that only Aedan could hear.

The man took a deep breath in before slowly exhaling and sheathing his sword. He would listen to her, after all she had not done anything to turn his trust away from her... and she was right. Iona, whilst she was arguably close to him and a traitor to Ferelden for working with the Darkspawn, she was still under the jurisdiction of Bann Loren and Lady Landra. Though, it was a dire situation and if they tried to keep their pet alive it would ultimately still be put down. Regarding the situation, Aedan was placed in high authority due to the threat of the Darkspawn. Those creatures who were so eager to wipe out all life on the world, or corrupt it with the same taint that swam through their blackened veins. Little did he know he was authorizing the more intelligent and structured of their species to help him in keeping his lands safe. Perhaps the Logosha were their own species though, not that anyone other than the Dark Mother knew of them to make such an accusation.

"Very well, get her ready and transport her to the dungeons men. Ysil's men are to watch over her as they see fit, your duty is to watch the other prisoners." Aedan commanded his men before turning around and heading back towards the castle. The Dark Mother stood there, not moving nor blinking as a smirk spread across her face. The chilled winds of the night causing her cloak to sway.

**An Understanding:**

Vanessa. A face Shadow had prayed he would never see again. That demon's face was just like he had last seen it those years ago, smooth and captivating. He was dreaming, yes, but dreams were not so easy to a mage as they were normal people. In fact, often the question arose if mages ever truly dreamt in their sleep. Shadow's answer to that question was simple; yes, they did, but at a higher price than those who do not have magical capabilities. They knew when they were dreaming, and they knew everything they saw around them would more than likely try and use their body as a way into the physical realm. Most spirits were harmless, and damned near all of the harm came from the countless demons. Lust, Pride, Wrath... they had no end. There were countless of each.

Shadow looked all around him, tearing his gaze from Vanessa who seemed frozen in time. Around him he saw a burning city, and the Archdemon he had seen countless times before in his nightmares. It was close, and such a sudden appearance from him made him jump back. Well, at least he thought it did. In truth, he hadn't moved even a millimeter. He too was stuck in time, save for the ability to see all around him. How such a thing was possible, he had no idea and since he was within the Fade he did not bother to question it. Death was everywhere. Darkspawn, dead. Humans, dead. Dwarves, elves, werewolves, golems, dead dead dead, and dead. He saw a few familiar faces from his group, only four though. Beside them were strangers he hadn't seen before in his life, save for Alistair.

As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized what was going on. He was going in for the final blow to the Archdemon. Beside him was the demon Vanessa, and the others were just there because they were helping him fight the corrupt Old God. Was this a glimpse of the future? Nay... was it an accurate one? Was he to be the one who sacrificed his entire existence to put an end to the Blight that was just beginning? Yes, that was something he had been informed about by Duncan right away after his joining. That man didn't hold any information back from Shadow. Probably because he was starting to hear his call... damned shame, that.

"This is your destiny, Logan Tulysvenan." A dark voice with a deeper echo to it spoke, "...But not your fate."

At first Shadow didn't respond, it could have been a trap. A demon prying at him, trying to get a response for multiple unknown reasons. But, his human curiosity got the better of him.

"Who are you?" The Warden called out, despite not being able to move. How any of this was happening was beyond him.

The voice chuckled in a fiendish manner, "That is not important. There is only one thing of importance, and that is what is coming. The Shadow is doomed to observe as it collapses internally. When the wolves howl, the mage weeps, and the stout folk get overrun you will observe. Then, when at the current journey's end... You will experience a shift inescapable. The mother of darkness demands it, and some of us have listened. Especially... her."

Before Shadow could speak, his gaze was shifted to Vanessa against his will and she suddenly came to life. With a hiss, she jumped towards him faster than the blink of an eye. And just like that; Shadow had awoken from his dream in the warmth of his tent. He sat up and let out a sigh, looking over at Lyna and a few other sleeping Wardens. He bit his lip in quiet contemplation as he scanned the features of each person within that tent. Familiar faces that would likely grow distant to the point of losing their place within his memory soon.

* * *

A few hours later, Lyna's eyes fluttered open for her to see the white and angled roof of the tent she was in. It was Shadow's tent, though in reality he had claimed it from Duncan for himself, Lyna, and two other Wardens she had not really known. Those two hadn't stayed around long enough for her to even greet them, and they woke up at ungodly hours. It was morning, that much she knew and they were no where to be seen. She had a perfect sleep cycle, it had to still be somewhat dark outside and those two were gone! The elf girl groaned and rubbed the back of her head as she sat up, only to hear a laugh from a dark figure who was cleaning his blade.

"You're the loudest Dalish I've ever heard, Mahariel. It's bad when I can hear you over the dwarves." Shadow spoke to her, already almost in his full set of armor. Only his helmet and gauntlets were missing. "In fact, I believe you've kept those two up all night with your talking, mumbling, growling and spitting." He concluded with another quick chuckle.

Lyna bit her lip as she narrowed her eyes at him, "It's not my fault I've been having bad dreams. That's your fault, remember?"

"No, it all is still your fault. Had you not gotten the corruption inside of you by playing around in ancient ruins, you wouldn't be here and by extension you wouldn't be having those nightmares right now. You'd be with your clan somewhere up north looking for safe passage out of the warzone." The man stated as he scratched his well groomed beard.

"Rude." The woman sighed, slowly standing up and making her way over to her own equipment.

Shadow nodded, "Honest. Just so you know, it is very early morning and we've a few things to get done during the day. You and I are on training duty, but we'll start that after the Joining and feast."

"Feast?" Lyna asked curiously, feeling a rumble in her stomach.

"Correct. Alistair's idea... you've yet to meet him. He's a fairly new Warden that eats like the rest of us: pigs. We're gathering all of our people and having a private feast before we start preparing for battle. No alcohol, mind you... for obvious reasons." Shadow informed her with a soft sigh, "You should know that our chances of seeing another day are slim, falon."

Lyna nodded and turned around to look over at him, gazing into his eyes which did the same to her own. "Our chances are always that way, Banal'ras. I'm more afraid of the entire fate of Thedas... of the world."

Shadow's eyebrows raised at the sound of her calling him 'Shadow' in the language of the elves. No one had ever done that before, and that fact alone intrigued him. Perhaps she was starting to respect him... well, he thought he'd never see the day. He was getting quite used to being called 'shem' every two seconds. Oh well, Banal'ras had a ring to it that stuck with him.

"The fate of Thedas and the world is this; the Darkspawn are going to get our blades in their throats before they have a chance of destroying either of the two. Even if Ferelden must fall." He replied with a fire in his eyes that made her smile.

He sheathed his blade and stood up, placing his gauntlets and helmet on before walking out of the tent. "Come find me talking with Duncan and Alistair in the small training yard we made when you're ready." He called back to her before the sound of his armor vanished relatively quickly.

Around fifteen minutes had passed before Lyna found the three Wardens who were definitely not talking. No, instead they were watching a few of their comrades train. Or in many cases, get their 'arses kicked so hard by the mountain lad' as Natia put it. The Dalish woman shook her head as she took her place beside Shadow.

"Are you all serious right now?" She asked with a small grin on her face, an eyebrow raised.

Shadow glanced at her briefly before looking back at the fight, "There's nothing wrong with enjoying a show before going to a Joining and eating. Besides, cooks said breakfast will be a few minutes off. We've got time to spare."

The fight was truly something to behold. The large Grey Warden was wrecking all of his opponents. Non-lethal and injuring moves only, but Lyna swore she could hear the concussions already forming with some of the moves he was performing on them. Slamming them to the ground, punching them, kicking them, grabbing them and squeezing... His actions were as reckless as they were brutal to behold. And that was during a non-lethal fight. She would hate to see what he did in a kill or be killed situation, but figured she would find out soon enough. This continued on for a few more minutes before Duncan called it off and had everyone gather around. He whispered something to Shadow before walking away and disappearing into the medical tent.

Shadow nodded slowly before addressing everyone, "All initiates report to the altar for the Joining. Grey Wardens, prepare for battle and then meet us all at the long table for perhaps our final breakfast together."

Whilst all who were present to hear his command did as they were told, there was an odd one out. Lyna. Hell, it was always Lyna. She never acted on his commands unless it were in battle. Otherwise, she remained at his side until he directed her personally. Something that proved useful to Shadow's plan, at least this time. He was not a fool and observed her ever increasing loyalty to him. It was time that, as a Grey Warden, she learned her responsibilities before she wandered too far down her current path. They needed to reach a mutual understanding of one another. Their thoughts, and plans would all be laid out to each other... for the most part. Shadow wasn't one to give up all of his secrets, and something told him neither was the girl.

Lyna then began to walk, only to be quickly intercepted by Shadow. "If you would, come with me Lyna. We've got some things to tend to. I wish to talk to you in order to clear some things up."

"W-What?" The woman asked.

"The way I see it, you are placing yourself under my care. That means I am your leader, and as your leader I would like to share a mind with you. We need to act as one, and that applies to anyone under my command. If we are acting independently, that will only result in chaos. We can't have chaos in times like these. Chaos would mean death." He stated, "Now, let's go. Unless you plan on parting from me any time soon."

Lyna nodded slowly and followed the man, muttering under her breath. Whatever she was muttering, it was fragmented. Probably just her trying to process what had just been said. In fact, that was exactly what it was. It wasn't long at all until they crossed the bridge and were isolated from nearly all others present at Ostagar. Shadow was the first to move towards the edge of the ruins, which was a rather beautiful view. Mountains in the distance, the valley, the Wilds, all of it was beautiful. He leaned against the stone wall and simply observed before taking his helmet off and setting it down on the small ledge, returning to resting against the wall. Upon the same ledge, Lyna had sat down and observed the scenery briefly before resting her gaze upon Shadow.

She started humming softly until words appeared in her mind, "So... What's up?"

"Nothing major, I just figured it'd be nice for us to come to an understanding about one another. I've noticed that you've placed yourself into my care and I need to know why. Truthfully. I don't care if it's because I'm the only one you trust, or because you want a piece of my power that you've witnessed... I need to know. Especially since we've got less than a day before we're going to be fighting to the death against beasts that know no fear, no pain, and no mercy. Your motives, your plans, every thing needs to be relayed to me before this night begins. If you do that... I'll do the same." Shadow spoke with an odd tone to his voice unlike anything Lyna had heard before.

What she would respond with was a matter that intrigued Shadow very much. There were so many possible things she may have said, none of them were really good considering their occupation. They were Grey Wardens, the only 'good' response she could run by him was that she merely wanted him as a leader. Why? Because she thought he had potential... or something along those lines. That was unlikely though, especially given how the elf reacted to leaving her clan. It didn't seem like something she was too enthused about, and even had an attitude for quite a few days after. Even after she had seemed to soften up around Shadow, whom for awhile she assumed was a captor. In a way, he was her captor as she had no choice in the matter. She was conscripted and the only way out of that was death. Something Shadow highly doubted she would ever want to face, not that she had a choice in that matter any longer.

Doomed to fight and die. That was what they were, all of them. Duncan, Shadow, Alistair, Daveth, Lyna... the entirety of their order was doomed to that fate. Arguably the worst part about it all was the fact it was irreversible. Once the Darkspawn Corruption was within your body, there was no going back. Perhaps not even in death. That was something he had to talk to Duncan about before the battle; Shadow hadn't liked the way he lied to Lyna and Marethari. The black-plated Warden knew that they were desperate for recruits, but lying was not something he could admire. Not even if it came from someone who already had his loyalty. Lyna's cure was actually a slow poisoning. Sure, thirty years was plenty for any elf or human to live, but a lie is a lie nonetheless.

Lyna looked up at him and let out a soft sigh, nodding as she understood where she was coming from. The young elf woman had to think about her next words carefully. Not because she was going to fabricate them, but because she needed to be honest with the man in front of her. What did holding anything back get her? Wasted thoughts, forgotten feelings, and a lonely death? She already knew all about the 'rules' Grey Wardens had. The ones that didn't necessarily ban relationships, but didn't exactly **promote** them at the same time either. But that was okay, Lyna never was one to follow the rules. They were adults, capable to think on their own and process things independently from one another. She didn't know what Shadow thought, felt, or even saw... but she knew herself. In the short time they had known each other, she'd be lying if she said she didn't have something of a 'crush' as shems put it, on the Warden. That and she was scared. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she couldn't lie about that fact. She was more scared than she had ever been in her entire life. They were going into a large scale battle for the fate of Ferelden and perhaps the entire world. The Blights as history had shown only got worse each time. With each added defense came another weakness the Darkspawn exploited, and from the rumors she was hearing, they were exploiting the disbelief of their existence. Something only ignorant, yet hopeful people could believe. Had there been no Darkspawn remaining, no Grey Wardens would have remained. History has made it so you cannot have one without the other. At least, that was what young Mahariel thought.

"You're afraid, aren't you? I can sense it in your presence." Shadow spoke as his gaze met her own, "...I know how you feel. I'm afraid as well. It'd be irrational to say that you were not scared for your life before a major battle."

Lyna nodded, "I-I know... but there are other things running across my mind and I've the largest headache I've ever had. We're going into a major battle, I've only thirty years to live and experience the world, and I'm most afraid of..." She informed him until her voice got caught on something in the back of her throat. Nervousness.

"It's alright, you don't need to be afraid to tell me anything." Shadow said with a lighthearted chuckle, "We've got a day to kill off anyway so take your time."

"Oh, you're funny..." Lyna grumbled as she looked up at him, "I like you Shadow. For more than one reason. I... I understand that we haven't known each other very long, but in the short time we have... I feel closer to you than I have anyone else. At least in such a short period of time. You saved my life, you took me in under your wing despite me being unreasonable towards you, and you even entrusted some of your secrets with me. How could I not feel for someone like that?"

Her words had only confirmed his suspicions. He never would have thought that a man, nay, a creature like himself would ever catch the interest of a woman like Lyna. It was then his mind went to try and formulate a response. There were several things he *could* say, but whether or not they were correct or not was unknown to him. He had a glimpse of the future, or more specifically; one of the many possible futures. She wasn't a part of it, and that fact alone led to many possible scenarios. If he pushed her away would that reality be true, or vice versa? He didn't know, nor did he really want to. Nevertheless he had to come to a decision, and within the next few moments.

"I understand that as well, Lyna, as I've felt somewhat the same way of you." Shadow spoke quietly as he scolded himself mentally, "I mean... I've been attracted to you in more ways than one. But you are correct on the matter of time. We've not known each other nearly long enough to truly pursue such a thing as even a small beginning of a relationship, yeah?"

The elf shook her head, "There is no such thing as 'too early' for matters such as ours. We only have a matter of years to live, and on top of that we may be dead before tomorrow morning."

"Again, you make a valid point. Unfortunately we cannot act on our feelings, we are Grey Wardens and in our line of work we cannot hesitate." Shadow said with a sigh, shifting his gaze onto the scenery once more.

Lyna let out a huff before standing up and walking over to the man in black plate, "What's the worst that could happen? We would only empower each other. So a few others will die... it won't be a result of our relationship with one another. It will be because there are monsters pouring out from under the ground seeking their death, and with us empowered by our private relationship we could save thousands more to make up for those lost. It's war, Shadow, that's exactly what this Darkspawn uprising is. In war there is no such thing as zero casualties."

The man met her gaze with his own very dark blue eyes, a red light behind them as if there were a light source behind his eyes. "I'm not going to fight you or your logic. You make good points and I've nothing to fight back with, though I'm sure Duncan would if he found out about this little talk of ours. You win, Mahariel. We will start and explore a relationship with each other on **one** condition..." He spoke, ending his sentence abruptly to make her question what the condition he spoke of was.

"What's that?" The elf asked with an eyebrow raising.

"We survive the night. If we survive the night, after the battle I swear to you that we will engage in a relationship with one another. Anything sooner will be a spur of the moment, and I'm not entirely sure I trust either of our judgements with such affairs right now. It's the morn before battle, it's only instinctual to want to seek comfort." Shadow said with a sigh, "And I suppose that if we survive the battle and are in a relationship afterwards, I owe you the rest of my story."

Lyna giggled and retracted her hand from his chest, shrugging, "Only if you can handle it. Come now, let's get something to eat. I'm starving and we've a lot of preparation to do before the day ends."

Shadow groaned before reaching down and grabbing his helmet, sliding it upon his head and following the elf that walked slow enough for him to catch up. He was quietly pondering the deal they had made together. Relationships were... something Shadow admittedly wasn't good at. Before he and his friend decided to go out for adventure, he was a shy young man who did nothing but work the farm. He had no real desire before he met that demon. Now, after he had met the demon, he was far from shy but a warrior. Hardened by a few years of battle and nothingness. Yes, the demon placed him under hell. Shadow... Logan, lost part of himself through it all. A part he would never get back. He was a human, but yet at the same time he was more. He was something that those craving power desired to become, and those that had worrysome hearts feared. Possessed? No. Demonic? Slightly. Powerful? Beyond imagining, though with limitations.

**Our Last Feast:**

"YE CALL THIS A BLOODY FEAST?!" Natia bellowed at the large table all of the Grey Wardens sat at, "WHERE'S THE MEAD?! THE HELL IS THE QUANTITY?!"

Despite the dwarvish woman being completely serious, all of the Wardens got a good chuckle out of her antics. Duran placed his hand on her shoulder and grinned, an act which calmed the woman and had her sit down properly. She kept on muttering how 'a feast without alcohol or a wagon load or two of food' was no feast. In response, Duran explained to her what this feast was about and why it wasn't grand. It was a mere gathering of the Wardens for their last meal before battle. That meant they couldn't afford their senses to be dulled by the kiss of alcohol, or their steps slowed by the weight of food. All of that came after the battle, as tradition would have it. Perhaps not dwarvish tradition, but it made the most sense. Why endanger your livelihood with a grand feast when you haven't won it?

Shadow and Lyna were just arriving at the feast when the former began to speak, "We've a lot ahead of us, my friends. Others are skeptical of our knowledge, but we know another Blight is on the horizon. We've seen it, all of us at this table have."

Duncan raised an eyebrow, having been caught off guard by Shadow saying anything at all. It was unlike him to do such a thing. He was a quiet person. He earned his name for always blending in with the dark and being silent. He wasn't even the type to grunt and groan in battle unless it was forced. Nevertheless, what his friend had to say intrigued him and he waited patiently for more to be said.

"We've recruited you all from far and wide, and now look at us. We stand strong, and are the wall between the Darkspawn and their conquering of Ferelden... of Thedas. Dwarves, those born of the stone to live and die fighting these vile creatures **without** the Joining. Men, the reigning race and most powerful... though embarrassingly young and reckless. And elves... intelligent, strong, and capable people who have faced too much pain throughout history. Warriors, thieves, nobles, and powerful mages... This is what we are. What **you** all are. United we are strong, but what are the Darkspawn if not united? We've beaten them time and time again, but they always come back. The only ones who know that are the Grey Wardens and dwarves save for a few others who have the misfortune of discovering them. I've a question for you all before we dig in to this meal before us and make merry before what could very well be the Fifth Blight..." He spoke before taking a seat at the end of the table next to Duncan, with Lyna taking one on his other side. "...Are you all ready? All of us may perish, but I want to hear it from each of your mouths that you are ready for the worst. Because the worst is always waiting to happen."

The short speech he had given made all of the Grey Wardens talk amongst themselves. After a few short minutes they all cheered back at him, and it made the Warden smile as he placed his helmet down on the table beside his plate. They were ready for the battle that was to happen on that day. There was not a soul that wasn't. They were the embodiment of the motto they backed up.

"Now... let us feast! For a war is about to begin, and we will have victory!" He said before all of the Wardens, including himself but excluding Lyna, filled their plates with various food types.

It was a truly inspiring moment in their lives. All of them gathered around together, eating a meal and having some fun before everything turned dark. This was to be their last feast until the Darkspawn were pushed back once again, or they all perished in that valley below. There was a plan that had already been discussed early in the morning that only Elissa, Duncan, and Alistair made it to. Most of the Wardens would be fighting along side the King in the valley below whilst a few other teams would have other purposes. Shadow, Lyna, Darrian and Neria would be guarding the main road north to Lothering. Daylen, Natia, and Duran would be making sure the signal fire was lit. Elissa, Daveth, and Alistair would go with to the tower of Ishal and hold off any further Darkspawn that may come in through the lower levels. Duncan and the other Wardens would be engaged in conflict down with the King in the valley.

Each role would be engaged in fighting the Darkspawn. Whether it be the massive horde itself or stragglers, each position had a high risk to it. Shadow didn't know how long the battle would go on for, but he knew the Darkspawn were restless creatures. It would be a battle that, unless they made a decent strike into the Darkspawn's numbers, would be lost due to men and their need for rest. Darkspawn needed rest as well, but not on a level similar enough to the more fairer races. They could fight for hours on end, and backed by the Archdemon everyone knew was out there... Those hours could have possibly been turned to days.

"Shadow... I fear for our friends." Lyna said quietly as they ate. It was obvious she didn't want every Warden tuning in on the conversation she had just started.

The man nodded but didn't respond to Lyna voicing her concerns. He felt the same way, mainly because he knew what even the smallest of skirmishes could do. Fighting wasn't pretty. It never had been and never would be. However, Shadow felt compelled to alleviate Lyna's worries. Even if it was only slightly. He knew that she would be worried until everything was done and over with, but that wouldn't be for quite some time. He just had that odd feeling.

"I know. It's only natural to be fearful in the face of something as lethal and dangerous as a Blight. But do not fear for their lives, for one day we will join them. Remember your oaths, and remember our motto. Let them bring you peace of mind. After all, without the Grey Wardens nothing you knew and allowed to comfort you would be as you knew it. Eat up, we've got a lot of work to do." He replied softly.

His words did indeed comfort her, but not by much. Nothing could ever truly comfort her. The nightmares she had witnessed were far beyond any others she ever had in her entire life. She would be lying if she said mere words made her feel safe, but she knew that everyone at that table were trained and highly skilled. They may fall, but they would definitely make the Darkspawn work for it. Part of her was upset Shadow and them got put in a position that seemed so... useless. They were watching a road and making sure nothing escaped to the north during the fighting? Part of her wanted to be in the battle with everyone else.

Hours had passed and the feast eventually concluded itself. It was just after midday when they all decided to get to work. They had assignments to do in preparation for the Darkspawn. Letters had to be written to loved ones, training had to be done, and last minute errands had to be undergone. Fortunately for those under Shadow's command, they hadn't much to do but train with their leader. Shadow knew that he wouldn't fall, at least not if he willed it. Spirits and Demons alike told many lies, left many unclosed paths to be imagined... but they never lied about possible futures. Why? The future was what gave them their appeal. Especially when it came to demons, which only ever seemed to show a future that benefitted them in some way or another. Which led Shadow to ponder about his dream the night before. It was no dream, he recognized it and knew it for what it was: a vision. A mere glimpse into one of the many possible futures that could happen. Now he wondered what role Lyna had to play in his life. It was going to be a long few months starting that night...

**The Battle of Ostagar:**

"Battle formations!" The Generals of the armies below shouted.

Elissa looked down upon the vast numbers of men gathered in the valley below. All of the fresh recruits, Alistair, and Daveth were there along with Shadow on the bridge leading to the tower of Ishal. The sight was daunting and the air was filled with something indescribable. Night had already fallen, and there were lights visible in the Wilds. No doubt from fires or something similar. It was unknown if Darkspawn could truly see in the dark or not, but that didn't matter. There were more pressing matters to ponder.

"This is the last we will see of each other for some time, I expect." Shadow told the others, "This night is going to be a long one, and you all must be ready. Your foes will be strong, but I assure you; if you keep a clear mind and believe in the men and women beside you... you will not fall on this night. Desertion is not an option, but if you are one of the last standing you will not be punished for running to fight another day."

Daylen nodded, "Where are we all to meet should things go sour? We **are** fighting the Darkspawn after all."

The young noble from Highever spoke up, "My brother has sent word here that he is rebuilding Castle Cousland... we could always regroup and rest there for some time before setting back into the fray."

Shadow nodded, "That is quite the journey from here... but it is worth it. With your brother's permission we could actually use his castle as a sort of base of operations until we find something better. I have an odd feeling that we won't be there often anyway. If the army here fails, we will need to use the ancient treaties to gather as powerful of a force as we possibly can. Dwarves, elves, humans."

"Understood." They all said before Shadow spoke up one last time.

"May our Gods watch over us. Report to your posts, the battle is about to begin." Shadow said before he, Lyna, Darrian, and Neria rushed off to get to the road.

The mist started to roll into the valley and an overwhelming presence of Darkspawn was felt by everyone there. It was unlike anything even the eldest Grey Wardens had felt outside of the Deep Roads. Even then it wasn't such a suffocating feeling as it was then. Elissa and Alistair's group were walking with their primary group across the bridge before they stopped at the sight of something. A truly large horde of Darkspawn showed itself as they slowly walked out of the Wilds. The sight alone struck fear into the hearts of everyone there, Grey Warden or otherwise.

"Never before have I seen something quite like..." Alistair remarked, struck by the unimaginable sight of the Darkspawn horde.

The ghostly whispers of the creatures were heard loudly, even on the bridge they were standing on which was quite far away from the edge of the Wilds. The whispers then turned to roaring and violent movements among the Darkspawn. They were, more or less, pumping themselves up for a battle. It was an intimidating sight, and that was its purpose. To rile themselves up, and spread fear among their enemies. Then their charge began.

From above it appeared as a chaotic ocean of Darkspawn began to close in on the army camped in the valley below. Ogres dotting the large wave here and there whilst the charge began. Within seconds the armies would all crash together.

"Archers!" King Cailan called out, and soon a dark cloud of arrows rained down upon the charging monsters.

The arrows killed a good amount of Darkspawn, but the number was insignificant. There were too many and everyone knew that. It slowed them down by only a fraction of a second.

"Hounds!" The King ordered, and now a large wave of Mabari dogs appeared from under the bridge.

The beasts clashed with each other, and the hounds trampled over a few of the Darkspawn. However, within a few moments the Darkspawn enclosed them and began to take them out. Only a few were halted whilst the main charge kept on happening. The King, Duncan, Elissa, and Alistair all caught a glimpse of one of the charging Mabari getting impaled upon the sword of a Hurlock Alpha. The sight made them all look away in a mixture of emotions.

"For Ferelden!" Cailan shouted and his armies were now unleashed, on a collision course with the Darkspawn horde. He and Duncan also took part in the charge.

Elissa and Alistair soon saw large balls of fire along with arrows lit ablaze fly towards the bridge. Daveth grabbed both of them by the shoulders and pulled them out of the state of shock they were both in. "WE NEED TO GET MOVING! NOW, BEFORE THOSE THINGS BRING THE BRIDGE DOWN!" He shouted over the deafening sounds of the battle below.

The two followed the man across the rest of the bridge just in the nick of time as the large boulders of fire slammed into it, killing multiple men. There was fire everywhere, and one of the towers got hit by the largest of all of the boulders.

"Damn! Watch for falling debris, these monsters are going to bring these ruins down on top of us if we aren't careful!" Daveth growled before guiding them forward towards the tower of Ishal.

Two of Loghain's men rushed out to meet them, a mage and a soldier. "Sers! The Darkspawn somehow got up here and are holding the tower hostage more or less. The men inside are all dead and we've been trying to hold them back. They've taken up defensive positions around the entrance." The soldier said in a panic.

"Then we're goin' to tear through their petty defenses and shove our swords up each and every one of their arses! Let's get moving!" Duran growled before grabbing firmly onto his battleaxe and taking charge with Natia at his side.

As they rushed up the steps to the courtyard that held the entrance to the Tower, they ran into a few Hurlocks and Genlock Archers. Flames were everywhere so they could see very well despite it being nighttime. The Hurlocks rushed forth to meet the Wardens, but seemed to neglect the fact they were charging straight into two pissed off dwarves. Between Natia and Duran, the rest of their friends would reach them in time to see the last of the Hurlocks get an axe rammed through its skull. The dwarves had only been engaged in battle for a minute, and they were drenched in blood.

Daylen quickly spotted one of the Genlock archers and shot a firebolt at it, igniting the creature. It let out shrieks before it fell to the wooden floor of the makeshift archer tower it was on, igniting that as well. The closer they moved to the entrance, the more Darkspawn that wanted to stop them. They had to be getting up there from somewhere, and Elissa was willing to bet that their door was somewhere inside the Tower. It made sense, but at the same time she wished it didn't. That meant there was going to be even more opposition inside the Tower itself.

"We need to get in there and to the top as fast as we possibly can!" Alistair called as he bashed one of the charging Hurlocks with his templar shield, "Otherwise they will overwhelm us!"

"I ain't lettin' no Darkspawn worm overwhelm me, ye bastard!" Natia shouted as she began to viciously stab a Genlock.

The group were now closing in on the entrance to the Tower, which was more than the two who had alerted them to the situation could say. They were cornered by multiple Darkspawn, including a Hurlock Alpha. Before any of the Wardens could interfere, the tall Hurlock slashed the mage in half and quickly impaled his soldier friend straight through the chest. The design of its twisted sword made it so that he could fling the body of the soldier towards the group of Wardens in a taunting fashion.

"Damn it! Move forward and make sure to stick close to a partner, we can't afford to lose anyone else!" Elissa commanded before she and the others pushed forward.

It was a battle between them and eleven Darkspawn. It wasn't a favorable situation, but they had to push through as there was no other alternative. They had to prioritize targets, and that meant that Duran was going to be fighting the Alpha until the others could dispatch its friends. That didn't trouble the dwarven noble at all, but it would prove to be a tricky situation due to the literal size difference.

"Alright, I'll take the big lad to keep you softies safe!" Duran called out as he rushed towards the Darkspawn.

The group simply went with the unspoken plan. It wasn't as if they had any other choice but to go along with it. It was either that or Duran would get himself pummeled to death, and none of his friends really had wanted that to happen to him. Besides, if things ever got too dire for Duran, Natia would make sure to step in. That was just how she was.

The plan had actually worked. The Hurlock Alpha was chasing after Duran after the dwarf bashed it on the groin and retreated. The other Darkspawn initially sought Duran, but his allies had arrived in time to draw their attention away. Something that had potentially saved his life. The conflict overall had been going on strong for about fifteen minutes, and already the two Ishal groups had their fair share of Darkspawn and death. Loghain's men were surprisingly worthless. Sure, it was a surprise attack... but they got overwhelmed too easily. It must have been a skeleton crew inside the Tower for them to have been overwhelmed in such a short amount of time. Something felt off about the whole situation.

The Darkspawn quickly got dispatched by Elissa and the others, they weren't anything special. When considering that Darkspawn are more akin to bugs than any of the fairer races, it showed that they were more dangerous in numbers due to their swarm mentality. They may have had individual actions, but they definitely believed in overwhelming enemies with numbers. If the fairer races could breed as fast as the Darkspawn, they no doubt would have adopted a more similar strategy. Lives would begin to lose their true meaning.

The Hurlock Alpha chasing Duran around let out a fierce roar, and the Dwarf retaliated by slamming his axe's blade straight into the creatures groin. It let out a yelp before falling onto its back, clutching its new wound. Natia hopped right on it, literally, and began jabbing her daggers into its neck. Within a few brief moments the Darkspawn were no more and they could press on into the Tower.

Breathing heavily and drenched in blood Duran gave out a few orders, "Daylen, Natia, and I will be heading inside. We need to get to that signal fire. Elissa, you and your group can catch your breaths for a few moments before heading inside. Don't take too long though, we're going to need you to hold off the Darkspawn from their source... wherever that is. Probably on the first level."

With that having been said, the axe tore his axe out of the Darkspawn and walked over to the door. Natia did the same thing and Daylen quickly enchanted their blades with flame. They had no time to waste, and they'd have to use everything in their power to get to that signal fire. It was their only real job, and the other team would just have to rush in to make sure no more Darkspawn got through. It was evident they got there from somewhere, and the King had seen the weakness before it even occurred. It was either that or Cailan was some kind of seer. They stacked up on the door before Duran opened it, Daveth giving them supporting fire with his bow and arrow until they entered and the door closed behind them. It wouldn't be too long before he and his group went inside.

* * *

Meanwhile, up the main road heading north a fair distance from Ostagar and the battle, Shadow and his group of four including him arrived. It wasn't anywhere specific, and they were out in the open a bit. At least they could use the trees on either side of them as cover should any Darkspawn archers appear. They were far away from Ostagar to the point where they could only barely see the Tower of Ishal, but they could still hear the battle happening there clearly. Or, as clearly as one could hear the clashing and bashing of steel.

Darrian let out a sigh, "I don't like this. It doesn't feel right to me. We should be in that valley fighting alongside Duncan and the other Grey Wardens."

Lyna nodded in response, "I agree. That's actually exactly what I thought when we were on the bridge."

"I don't like it anymore than either of you, but we have our orders. We need to make sure that we can catch any stragglers within our reach so that the settlements in the Hinterlands or even Lothering doesn't get it. It's only a matter of time before the Darkspawn either get pushed back or defeat us, and honestly I fear it'll be the latter. We've not the manpower to hold them back. I've never sensed anything quite like I have this night..." Shadow growled at the two, seeing the smoke and glow of the distant fires.

"So what now? We just sit and wait here until something interesting happens?" Neria asked the three.

"No, because I think something interesting is about to happen, prepare yourselves!" Shadow said as he drew his two newly forged blades.

Lyna grabbed her bow and readied an arrow, and the other two prepared their own weapons. What they saw were indeed a large group of Darkspawn. No doubt scouts sent ahead of the main horde to see what opposition lied ahead of them. The sad truth was that the battle of Ostagar would only delay the Darkspawn, and nearly all of the Grey Wardens had assumed that. A Fifth Blight was upon them, but with the disbelief of others... they had nothing else to prove. Not unless the Archdemon showed itself, which it seemed very hesitant to do. It was a smart tactic, hide yourself until victory is within your grasp to make it impossible for your reign to be cut short by would-be heroes.

Not another word was spoken as the scouting party didn't play around. Unlike other Darkspawn, they seemed to be less inclined to intimidate. Perhaps they were chosen from the best, designed to get the job done whilst the others were there to spread fear in the hearts of the fairer races. Whatever they were, it mattered little. They were to be slain so that Lothering and the other settlements could be safe. At least for awhile longer than expected. Shadow and his group had to hold the line until they saw the beacon lit, and then they would head north to Castle Cousland to regroup with the others after the battle. Regardless of its outcome, there was going to be a war. Especially since Ferelden's military forces had been somewhat scattered at a moment's notice. Orlais no doubt had their eyes on Ferelden.

The group clashed with the Darkspawn, and Neria had enchanted the group's weapons with electricity. This of course made each strike paralyzing, which made it easier to kill the Darkspawn. However, they were very resilient creatures and not all of them were as effected by it as others. The scouting group was less of a group and more of a warband. It had at least thirty Darkspawn in it, and that was acknowledged by Shadow as he saw that they were all now surrounded by the creatures. Shadow and Darrian were fighting in a blur of motion to compensate for the lack of numbers, and Lyna used her reflexes and skilled aim to deal death to Darkspawn. She had to quickly switch targets and make precise kills before the Darkspawn closed in. On top of it all, Neria was using any spell she could think of to help without exhausting herself. Any other mage would have probably been worn out within the first four minutes of the fight due to the size of the warband they were fighting. Four against thirty was not a good situation for the four.

Shadow noticed something as he cut down one of the Darkspawn. They were all Hurlocks. All of them. There was no real variety about them. He had his guesses as to why that was, though. Hurlocks were the most common, and really they excelled in a great many things that Genlocks, Shrieks, and Ogres couldn't. They were much like the humans in that regard. The most common, and the most influential of all races.

All seemed to have been going well for them, at least until Shadow got knocked down to the ground. He hadn't seen a Hurlock Alpha coming, and the creature's mace collided with his head. That sent him falling to the ground with a dented helmet and very disoriented feeling. A similar thing had happened to Darrian, and that was when Neria used a blast of flames to push the Darkspawn back. The heat wasn't enough to kill or ignite anyone, for obvious reasons, but their situation was dire. At least, that was until unknown friendlies clad in black plate appeared.

The mysterious force that had appeared made the four look painfully weak as they cut through the Darkspawn in relative ease. In fact, it was disturbing how they managed to cut through them without even seeming to be worried or stressed. It was all too... simple. When the battle was concluded though, Lyna lowered her bow and nodded at them.

"Who are you lot?" She asked curiously as Neria began to help Shadow recover.

One of them stopped and looked at the elf, they had strange markings on their armor and on their chest plate was the... Cousland heraldry? "We come from Castle Cousland. We are Lord Aedan Cousland's new Vanguard and have been ordered to come down here and help out in any way we can, though hearing the sounds of battle it would appear we are too late."

"No, actually, you aren't." Shadow spoke as he slowly made his way to his feet, "You can help us by waiting here and awaitng the beacon to be lit. Then you can escort us to Castle Cousland... Lord Cousland's sister has said that we could all use their castle as a place to regroup after the battle. Think you can do that?"

"Of course, if those are your orders we can do that without issue. I recognize your armor, Ser, and it is a pleasure to be in the presence of Grey Wardens." The one whom they could only assume was the leader said.

Shadow chuckled as he slowly regained his balance, "Likewise..."

They began to walk down the road before shrill shrieks were heard. Immediately Shadow readied his blades and the others did the same, the Vanguard doing the same. The group immediately formed a defensive circle-like formation that made it so a 360 degree area was covered. No backstabs would be available to the Darkspawn this time.

"Shrieks, fastest step up, slowest step back. We need speed, not strength." Shadow spoke as another screech was heard.

Darrian nodded and the leader of the Vanguard spoke up, "Don't rely on your sight, they'll appear as a blur and disappear in a blink. Instead focus your hearing and let your instincts take over. Do not think about moving, just allow it to happen."

Within a moment's notice the first Shriek had arrived. Shadow saw the attack coming and managed to defend as well as retaliate. The Shriek's blades collided with Shadow's and the clang was heard loudly. Shadow quickly kicked the Shriek back and as the creature stumbled backwards he slashed its head clean off of its long neck. As the thud of the body was heard, the other Shrieks began their attack. Lyna and Neria were helping pick them off from the center of the defensive circle whilst the Vanguard on the outside began fighting.

Shrieks were strong opponents. Their agility and speed were unmatched by the other Darkspawn, and they were the ones who did perhaps the most damage during raids. Luckily everyone they were fighting now was trained. They had no escape, and within fifteen minutes of fighting the last tried to run. Lyna wasn't going to allow that. The creature almost escaped until an arrow flew straight into its head and sent it tumbling down a hill.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Shadow stated with a chuckle before looking up at the tower of Ishal, what was taking Loghain's men and the newest Grey Wardens so long?

* * *

Back at the Tower, Alistair quickly finished off a Hurlock Grunt. They had been pouring up into the Tower via a large hole in the Tower's foundation. It led to a cave system that probably led down to the valley eventually. All they knew at that point in time was that the Darkspawn were numerous and the corpses they had pushed back down into the cave were starting to build up.

"Well, that should keep them out for a little bit. What should we do?" The ex-Templar asked as he looked towards Elissa for direction.

The woman simply pondered as she cleaned her blade from the Darkspawn blood, "Sitting here is useless, they've no doubt noticed the blockage and will be sending even more numbers towards us. Our best bet would be to head further up the Tower."

Daveth shook his head, "Actually, no it wouldn't be our best bet. Our orders were to hold them off, meaning we're the only means of escape. If we hold them back so that the fire can get lit, we need to also make sure we hold them back from the exit. I don't know about you two, but I'd rather not take the express route down."

"Mm, Daveth has a point. It's better we remain down here. Why don't we just make sure nothing leaves this room? We can fall back to the other hallway and just watch the doors." Alistair added in.

Elissa nodded, "Alright. Let's do it." She said before walking away dismissively.

The two men followed her out of the door and Daveth immediately trained his bow and arrow on the door, a safe distance away at fifteen feet. Elissa had her daggers at the ready, and Alistair was in front of her with his sword and shield raised. They were ready for a fight, and they would be the only aid those above would get.

They heard noises in the room they were just in, and judging by those sounds the Darkspawn were climbing up. They had expected that in all honesty, the blockage they made was one made of corpses. Such a thing wasn't necessarily hard to remove, and it was more of a wall than a blockage. Soon the wooden door was kicked open and a large group of Genlocks poured through. They rushed forward, towards the squad of three with an intent to kill. Behind them were their Hurlock cousins. Their ranks weren't important, as they were plenty in number. Where the Wardens stood three men strong, the Darkspawn were at least forty. Unlike Shadow and his squad, Elissa and her comrades would not be so lucky as to have friends appear.

"Aim for their leaders in the back, Daveth! Alistair, you and I have to keep them off of Daveth." Elissa ordered and Daveth immediately began aiming at the marked targets.

Alistair nodded before rushing forward and slamming his shield against one of the charging Genlocks. The attack sent the poor creature flying to its back, but rather than finish it off, Alistair shifted his attention to another Darkspawn. Lyna made sweeps around Daveth, making sure that any Darkspawn Alistair didn't get the attention of died. If Daveth was taken out they would have lost all means of long range damage. That was something they needed at the moment, otherwise they'd be surrounded and overwhelmed within seconds.

The Darkspawn that they were engaging in were nothing special. They were common grunts and footsoldiers. Were they all Alphas, well, the six Wardens inside the Tower would have been long dead. Elissa got slashed in the leg by one of the Genlocks who had made it passed Alistair, but luckily she had leather armor on and the blow was only glancing. She quickly jabbed her dagger towards the short Darkspawn and killed it as her blade penetrated its skull.

Alistair was going to town on the Darkspawn. The bodies were piling up, but it would be unrealistic to think that he was not tiring. He didn't know how much more fighting he could handle, though he knew it wasn't much. Soon he would be exhausted. In his tiring state he made a crucial mistake and soon found a blade slam straight into his gut. The plate armor he wore mattered little as the blade still penetrated his flesh. He let out a grunt and the Hurlock General who succeeded in the attack was looking straight at Elissa now. There were at least twelve Darkspawn left, but Daveth had ran out of arrows and switched to his daggers. Lyna quickly swapped her daggers for her swords and cut through four Hurlocks to get to the General. Alistair fell backwards off of the General's blade and fell against the blood stained stone floor.

Elissa began to push the General back away from Alistair, but as she did so she didn't see Daveth get overwhelmed by five Hurlocks. They didn't kill him strangely enough, but merely slashed him across the chest and slammed his head into the stone floor. After that they and another two rushed up the steps, some of them archers. Elissa was too focused on her fight with the General that those small details went unnoticed.

They had relative privacy in their fight, and she had slaughtered the remaining three Darkspawn excluding the General itself. Their fight could be compared to a wolf and a bear. The bear could handle a lot of damage, moved slower, but hit harder. The wolf on the other hand was more susceptible to damage, was faster, but required a few more hits than the bear. The General backhanded her and forced her swords out of her hands, sending them flying against the wall of the Tower. It then grabbed onto her throat and lifted her up, preparing to impale the rather light woman upon its sword. Elissa had one last trick up her sleeve, however, and quickly used her right hand to unsheathe her dagger and stab in between the General's chestplate. Her blade punctured its heart and it let out a loud shout before tossing her against the nearby wall. She hit her head and was knocked unconscious, her body falling like a sack of bricks beside Alistair who was still alive and holding on. The blade that stabbed him didn't hit anything vital, but he would bleed out if he didn't get proper medical attention. The General let out a laugh at the dying man before falling down to its knees, and then on its side with Elissa's dagger still in its chest.

* * *

On the highest floor of the tower, the two dwarves climbed down off of the Ogre that had paved a way and prevented Loghain's men from lighting the signal. Daylen smiled at them and slowly walked over to the fireplace to meet there with them.

"Damned thing smelled horrible." Duran stated with heavy breaths, "Glad that's over with. I hope those three are alright. Daylen, light the fire."

The mage nodded, using his staff and sending a flame to the fireplace to ignite it. "We'd best get back downstairs and get out of here now that the fire is lit. This tower is going to be overrun soon with Darkspawn, and I doubt those three can hold out forever."

"I think the mage is ri-" Natia began to say before three arrows flew through the air.

The female dwarf got hit right in the upper chest, and she fell backwards immediately. Duran met a similar fate, but got hit in the abdomen which caused him to fall down and curl up. Daylen on the other hand experienced an arrow straight to the back, sending him falling face first to the ground. The Darkspawn then began to close in on them before a loud roar was heard. The walls got shattered all around them and flames charred their bodies, disintergrating them almost instantaneously.

Shadow and six of the Vanguard rushed into the Tower of Ishal. Something rubbed the Warden wrong, and he didn't want to abandon his fellow Wardens. Another Vanguard soldier rushed inside to warn them of what he saw.

"Ser Warden, a dragon just took off with something clutched in its talons from the upper floor. It ripped the whole top of the tower off!" The man informed them loudly. "It took off for somewhere in the Wilds to the east."

Shadow nodded, "So it went towards where we sent the recruits to gather the treaties. Alright, we've got little time to waste. We need to find the Wardens on this floor, I already sense a lot of Darkspawn heading this way from below." He said before they rushed forth.

The halls of the Tower were coated with corpses, rubble, fire, and some treasures. Nothing of importance, but still something that could make a person quick gold. They disregarded it all though, and it didn't take them long at all until they found Alistair barely awake. Daveth and Elissa were also there, unconscious though.

"Secure the area! You two, help me carry them!" Shadow ordered before rushing forward to Alistair, placing his hand on the man's gut and beginning to channel magic. "I've got you." He stated, trying to comfort the Warden.

Alistair kept on gasping for air, trying to hold on for as long as he could. "Ser Shadow, Darkspawn are climbing up from the lower cave system. We can hear them." One of the Vanguard said, "We need to leave immediately."

"Damn it!" Shadow cursed before grabbing onto Alistair and standing up with him in his arms. "Let's go!"

With at least three recruits having been saved from the Tower of Ishal, the Vanguard and Shadow set off to leave Ostagar. Lyna, Darrian, and Neria had already began moving north with a portion of the Vanguard forces. They would have to catch up, but Shadow just couldn't leave all of the Wardens behind. What made matters worse was the fact that the sounds of battle seemed to be dying down. If there were more Darkspawn on the way, and no cheering... it meant only one thing. He had hoped the King and Duncan made it out of that damned valley.


	15. Prologue - Chapter 11: Part 2

Prologue: Betrayal

**Chapter 11:** The Innocent Traitor; An Understanding; Our Last Feast; The Battle of Ostagar; **The Infinite Army; A Regrouping; Oaths; Departure**

**The Infinite Army:**

"So we've two high risk prisoners in our care, and one of them we cannot dispose of ourselves? Something doesn't feel right about that, Ysil." Aedan voiced his concern as he and the Dark Mother sat in the Great Hall.

They were at a rectangular table, and were sitting across from one another so they could face each other. The table itself could seat at most eight people, but they were the only ones there at the time aside from the newly named Cousland Vanguard and remaining Castle Guards. They had a lot to talk about, and since Ysil was there to help they needed to work everything out together.

The woman nodded and took a sip of her red wine, "We've already been through the matter of the prisoners, but I can recite it. The only reason we're keeping Iona is because she is not ours to deal with. She is under Lady Landra's and Bann Loren's jurisdiction, but if they fail to deliver proper justice you can step in. Arl Howe's daughter is a prisoner of war and could prove to be a vital asset to us. We have something he loves, whereas he has nothing against us other than an army."

"Bah, you think he actually cares about his daughter? The man's a greedy rat, all he cares about is money, power, and perhaps a good lay." The Lord scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "I say we milk her for information and if nothing comes of it, we kill her."

Ysil giggled at the idea, but shook her head in refusal. "That wouldn't be wise. I agree with you on gathering information, but killing her is a bit too far, my Lord."

"And what would you have me do, dear lady? Have her sit there as a pretty ornament for my castle? I think not. I shall preserve her life for a period of time, using her to gather information. After that I will attempt to ransom her to Howe, on** my** conditions. Depending on how that goes, she may or may not be executed." Aedan said, utterly dismissing the topic. Any further conversation on the matter was ended with that expert maneuver.

"Understood, Lord Cousland." Ysil replied with a soft frown, "We have a lot of work ahead of us. Our Vanguard unit should be reaching Ostagar by now, if they haven't already."

Aedan nodded, "Let us pray to the Maker that they are not late. I need my brother found before he gets himself slaughtered by the Darkspawn. In the mean time, where exactly are you and your lot based? I've never heard of you before."

Ysil had almost expected that question. It just wasn't something she had expected him to ask at the moment. How would she break that to him? 'Oh it's confidential?' No, that'd just make him pester her about it or even give her an ultimatum; something she didn't want at the current time. Perhaps generalizing would be easy enough, though it'd be the truth. Yes, that was how she was going to respond.

"We're based deep within the mountains to the west. The reason you haven't heard of us is because I've been **very** careful with how we go about our business. We're self-sufficient so we don't need to worry about trade, and we've made sure that we work under various names so that we can't be traced. Now, we've taken up your name, my Lord. We are your Vanguard." She answered with a small grin on her face, "And I must say that I am glad to have the chance to serve you."

"And I'm glad to have your help, my lady. How strong is your army? I need to know your numbers so that I can strategize accordingly." Aedan asked as he looked over at the large wooden door that had to be repaired.

Ysil nodded before answering his question, "We currently have about three thousand men."

"Three thousand?!" Aedan asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes. By next month our numbers should be around nine or ten, depending." She informed him with a purple flash in her eyes.

Aedan shook his head in disbelief, "You're joking. Trying to make me feel relieved."

"No, I mean it truthfully. I could show you, if you'd like... but you must understand something that will be hard for others to accept." Ysil stated with a sigh, preparing to be forced to take over command of the young Lord.

"And what's that?" Aedan asked with genuine curiosity.

"My men are cousins of the Darkspawn. They look like more... pure Darkspawn. Whereas the Darkspawn the armies are down south fighting are corrupted creatures, mine have a special type of corruption to them. They have the same taint running through their veins, but they have more control over it than other Darkspawn. Because of that, they are special and have unlocked their hidden potential. They do not hate the more fair races, as you can obviously tell, but they are not afraid to defend themselves. We've recently broken free from the Archdemon to help the surface take care of it." She explained rather hastily and admittedly nervously.

Aedan didn't know how to process what he had just heard. She was with the Darkspawn? Hadn't he just thrown Lyna in for the same thing? But wait, if all of her men were Darkspawn why didn't they just attack on sight? Why were they apparently not hostile like the others? It all made little sense to the human Lord, but that was why Ysil was there; to explain her actions and what she had just said. What she suggested was dangerous to say the least, especially if Aedan were to accept her and her men as his main force. What if someone took off their helmets and saw what they were underneath? Did they look like Darkspawn? If so, Aedan knew he wouldn't be able to accept it. Otherwise lords from all over Thedas would be traveling just to put him down.

"What?! Ysil, by the Maker you have one minute to explain what you mean before I take the necessary actions for you working with the Darkspawn." Aedan threatened before Gruk pushed open the door to the main hall.

"We are not Darkspawn." He growled as he and four of his men made their way towards the table the two were seated at. "We merely share the same origin. We are stronger, faster, smarter, and independent. We do not serve the Archdemon and we do not wish the utter annihilation of life like they do. We live to serve the Dark Mother and that is it. If she orders us to follow the commands of someone else, we will do so without question or hesitation"

"We can provide you with thousands of men, Aedan. You won't have to worry about your lands being in danger ever again." Ysil said with a light smile, "We are also working on a mercenary-like division to work beside the Logosha."

Aedan froze for a moment as he recalled where he had heard that name before. Then he had realized that it was mentioned by the Grey Wardens during their brief stay at the Castle. So she was the leader of the mysterious Darkspawn the Wardens were after? Interesting... he definitely saw the advantage of allying with them. The only real issue still blocking him from saying that he was fine with it was the fact if they were ever discovered... it risked a lot. Then again, he'd have legions at his command. Would it really even matter if he were caught?

Perhaps it was too late to decline her anyway. She had aided him thus far in exposing the real threat to he and his beloved Ferelden. Iona was consulting with the real Darkspawn, he had seen it with his own eyes. She was also not in control meaning that she was merely an agent and could not be trusted. This woman, however, was in charge of the Logosha. Without their help, he wouldn't have been able to protect his village from the raiding Darkspawn or give his actual men a rest from their duties. Hell, Iona would have already fed those Darkspawn the information, whatever it may have been, and returned back to bed with Aedan by now.

"I definitely see where you are coming from, Ysil... The power you are offering me is... tempting to say the least. But, I have a question for you. What if they are caught? We are going into battle, casualties will be had no matter how good or 'perfect' one's self is. It wouldn't be hard for someone to discover their true identities at that point." Aedan stated, wanting to see her take on the matter.

The woman nodded and ran a hand through her long and beautiful black hair. "They resemble humans enough to not be distinguished after a battle, to aid this point is the simple fact that when a Logosha dies they are torn up. It takes a lot to take down even one fully trained Logosha."

"I see... Well, it's too late to tell you and your men to pull out anyway. Whether I like it or not, I find myself needing your help once again Ysil. I just ask that you-"

Ysil quickly interrupted him, "The power of the Logosha is yours to command, my Lord. You need not worry about me interfering with how you use them. Just remember to form a council, and I recommend you use the one that is already in place rather than form a new one. I have the ultimate overriding say, but you have the right to command our infinite army as you see fit. Highever is yours, after all. Not ours."

"Thank you, then. Truly. I feel a bit like a hypocrite for imprisoning Iona for dealing with the Darkspawn when I feel like I am doing the same myself." Aedan said as he scratched the back of his neck.

Gruk nodded, "It is understandable, Lord Cousland. You are a human, to you we must all seem like Darkspawn despite our very clear differences. The Dark Mother hasn't told you this, at least to my knowledge, but please keep our race a secret to the Grey Wardens and all others as best you can. If we are exposed I understand you cannot help it, but we currently don't have enough influence to have something like that get out and around unless it is an accident." He then turned his attention to Ysil, a worried and curious look upon his face. "You made him the Dark Lord? That isn't a rank I was taught..."

Ysil giggled, "It's because I just made it up while you two were talking with each other. I figured that if he is going to be leading the entirety of the Logosha with me, then he should have a position to himself. To our forces he is the Dark Lord - something simple to not confuse everyone, and to all others he is merely a Lord."

"I... see. So you are serious about sharing your rule over the... Logosha?" Aedan asked with a raised eyebrow.

The woman nodded, "Indeed. Though I am the one in complete charge. That hasn't changed. You are just a rank above High Warchief."

"What?! Ysil, you cannot do that! That's overriding years of trad-"

"Times change, my dearest Warchief. That is a fact we all must get used to. Besides, we did just get done saying he could control all of the Logosha. That includes you." Ysil said with a sigh, "Don't take it too personally. Honestly."

"Forgive me, Mother." Gruk said as he bowed his head in regret.

Ysil merely waved dismissively at him before speaking, "Go get our portals open Gruk, I sixty men will not defend a whole castle and its surroundings for long."

"As you command." The Logosha said before turning around and taking his leave from the Great Hall.

Aedan let out a soft sigh before standing up. That was it, he had to turn in for the night. He had just done a lot in the last day, no, in the last afternoon than he ever had his entire life. So many decisions made in what felt like a split second. He just hoped none of his decisions would come back to bite him in the ass. He had a lot of planning to do now, especially since he couldn't trust the Logosha or their leader. That was all that was apparent to him, how could he ever trust the Darkspawn? It was in their nature to want to erradicate the world above. No matter how much they said they were different he couldn't believe them. Perhaps in time that would change, but he was living in the now. He couldn't foresee the future, but he knew Howe was going to make moves soon. Thus, he had to find a way to beat the man to the chase and perhaps make a move before he did. Capturing his daughter was certainly one way of making a preemptive strike without the Arl even knowing it. Though, the Howe family probably had found out by then. Every decision he made from the time Howe attacked to the current hour had been formed off of his dedication to Ferelden and his people. He did not like dealing with Darkspawn, whether or not the Logosha were truly kin to those monsters. But he had no other choice available to him. If he said something they did not like, they could end his life and the entirety of Ferelden from what he had heard. Best case scenario would be that the Howe family came back and actually succeeded that time around; something Aedan would rather die before allowing that rat to accomplish.

Ysil watched as the newly appointed Dark Lord of the Logosha left the Main Hall. She would take over whilst he got some rest. She was more than willing to schedule patrols and prepare the outermost settlements for a war. War was coming to Ferelden, and at the same time so was a Blight. There was no denying those facts, unfortunately. She got up and left the Main Hall to begin writing in the Castle's Teyrn's quarters. Or, really where Aedan had just went to go get some sleep. That was the only place she could think of that had official seals, parchment, and ink. She also had to prepare for the Grey Wardens. The Vanguard had made it to Ostagar after all, and they had reported that the Grey Wardens were coming in greater numbers than she had originally anticipated. She was amazed that more did not die during that fight. The Warden-Commander must have knew better than to risk all of their lives. She had kept her eyes on Duncan for quite some time, and he definitely was impressive with his foresight.

* * *

Within an hour of his disappearance, Lord Cousland awoke to hearing the sounds of chanting and marching. Alarmed, he rushed outside of his chambers to encounter a heavily guarded home. There were two guard per door, for nearly every door in the Castle's housing. He walked outside and saw patrols manning the walls as well as the ground, all of them bearing the marks of the Vanguard. He rushed passed patrols and civilians alike until he made it to the Main Hall, spotting a glimpse of a large armed force in the courtyard. Once inside the Hall, he saw something he hadn't expected.

Ysil was channeling a large portal that had been pouring Logosha for the hour he had been away. Eventually she ended the portal when the Castle's limits were met.

"By the Maker, Ysil, what are you doing?!" Aedan asked as he approached the woman, the Logosha assuming their positions.

The woman shrugged as she turned to look at Aedan, "Making the Castle safe, my Lord. These beings are your forces, and I saw it fit that they take residence in your castle so that the Arl will frown upon such an idiotic move as to attack again."

Aedan snarled as he looked her coldly in the eyes, "Things that happen up here occur differently than wherever you are from, Lady Ysil. A force of hundreds suddenly appearing is the work of demons, and such things are not allowed to happen. He could use this against us, form an arm-"

"In the middle of a Blight, it would be most unwise for all of Ferelden to band together to take down one Lord. They have bigger and better things to worry about, such as the Darkspawn in the South making a push to the North." Ysil interrupted.

Aedan placed his face into his right palm, "That's the thing, the nobility of the surface is anything **but** logical."

The woman sighed and nodded in defeat. "If our reports from the Ostagar ruins are true... I should have known that. My apologies, Lord Cousland, it will not happen again."

"It's too late for such talk. I'm going to get rest, and I'd suggest you do the same. We have a lot of work ahead of us." Aedan said before turning around and heading out of the Main Hall.

Ysil nodded and gave a polite bow as the man walked out of the hall. When she turned around to face the large entrance to the hall, she found herself facing a familiar face. Her mother's true form, a demonic one yet it was very alluring. Even to the Dark Mother herself.

"You know that boy will not remain an asset forever, don't you my daughter?" The demon asked with her voice as soft and cool as the evening wind. "The Shadow is coming. Your father is ever so close to us again."

Gruk growled as he felt the words the previous Mother spoke ripple through his blood, "What?! Impossible!" He roared as he looked over to Ysil.

"I agree with Gruk, he is long dead! Mother, you must be mistaken!" The Dark Mother said in shock, making the demon smile.

"Trust me, I am far from mistaken." The demon spoke, "You must not let the Wardens know of the Logosha or your origins. In fact, you should withdraw back to the Long Stretch. There is no telling how an interaction with Shadow may go between you two."

"Well, you shall see soon enough. I am not abandoning Lord Cousland over a lie you created." Ysil grumbled before walking out of the Main Hall with Gruk following close behind.

He let out a huff of confusion, speaking hastily to the Dark Mother. "Did I hear correctly? Warchief Herigan is alive?"

"Apparently, and he is coming here. Be on high alert." Ysil spoke as she continued moving towards the Teyrn's housing, leaving Gruk behind to stand there and try to understand what he just heard.

**A Regrouping:**

Duran groaned loudly as he slowly came to wake up. He could feel a very faint pain in his abdomen, but it was nowhere near as bad as one would have thought it would have been. He woke up without his armor on, in fact, he only had his underwear on. He had bandages wrapped around his body in various locations including his stomach, though. When he sat up he saw a woman in front of him putting a book back upon a shelf. Ah yes, he recognized her immediately; one of the 'Witches of the Wilds' they had ran into whilst getting their Darkspawn blood for the Joining. He wondered if all human women that lived outside of cities dressed such as her. Not that he would complain if they did...

"Ah, your eyes finally open. Mother shall be pleased." The Witch known as Morrigan said in her rather soothing voice as she walked over to his bedside.

Duran nodded slowly, "Aye... I remember you. You're Morrigan, the mage in the Wilds that stole the ancient treaties."

She scoffed, "I did not steal them, and one would think you would be more grateful to the one who has been bandaging your wounds. You are welcome, by the way." She said with a bit of sass to her voice before continuing on, "How does your memory fare? Do you remember Mother's rescue?"

"No I don't remember your bloody mother's rescue! I got shot in the bloody abs and fell over like a sack of stone." Duran said a bit agitated now, "Where are my mates? What the bloody hell happened?"

"The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field. The Darkspawn won your battle. Those he abandoned were massacred. Your friends... they are not taking it too well. Aside from the mage who remains indifferent." Morrigan informed the dwarf. "They are all outside, with Mother. She had asked to see you when you awoke, by the way."

Duran nodded before slowly getting up, "Then I'd best get ready and be off. Wouldn't want to keep my mates and your mum waiting for too long."

"Your items are in the chest at the foot of the bed." Morrigan told him before turning around and walking over to the fireplace where there was a pot filled with boiling contents. It smelled rather nice, believe it or not. It made Duran hungry, but he had work to get done.

It took Duran a few minutes to get into his clothes and armor, but when he did he felt much better. Of course, there was a glaring problem with his armor and that was the fact that there was still a hole where the arrow had penetrated his abdomen. Great. Just another thing to worry about and protect. Oh well, such was a male dwarf's life. Well, at least the noble dwarf who had once been named a Commander of Orzammar. Oh, how his brother would pay if they ever crossed paths. Wardens were supposed to forget their pasts, and perhaps with time he would end up forgetting his own. But it still was burning brightly in his mind and heart.

Without another word to Morrigan, Duran walked towards the door and opened it. Immediately the surrounding smells of the Wilds penetrated his nose and made him want to spit. It smelled nearly as bad as a sick nug.

"I'm sayin' you need to get yer bloody head on straight, mage! Just 'cause yer little young 'apprentice' may have died back there doesn't mean we shouldn't head north like Shadow told us to! She may still be alive!" Duran heard Natia growl.

"There were too many of them, and Loghain betrayed us all. There is no way any others survived the attack. As Flemeth said, she saw no others in the vacinity of the tower." Daylen replied as he crossed his arms, "Meaning our friends have perished thanks to that stuck up 'hero' who betrayed his king and son-in-law."

"Enough!" Duran growled as he walked out, "You two are arguing like imbeciles. I expected more from an intelligent mage and battle-hardened thug. We need to make our way north, there is no exception to that rule. Shadow ordered us to get to Castle Cousland, and that is what we're going to do. He has the damned treaties we need, so if he's dead we're heading back to Ostagar."

Flemeth's eyes narrowed before she let out a hearty laugh, "So the voice of reason awakens. I trust you slept well?"

Duran then looked up at the human woman, shaking his head with a less-than-amused look on his face. "Aye. Like I got slammed against the stone with a torch sticking inside of my gut."

"I hate to interrupt you two before you get out of hand, but can we go back to how we're supposed to even get up to Castle Cousland? That is an entire country to travel in a few days, and the Darkspawn surely have this area surrounded." Daylen interjected as he looked between the two.

Duran nodded at the mage, "Then we'll just have to be sneaky little buggers about it, won't we?"

Flemeth got another chuckle out of that, "You two are perhaps the loudest creatures ever to have entered my home, and you have a mage who is rather elderly. I don't think you'll accomplish much sneaking about in the wilds."

"That's not what I meant," Duran grumbled, "We'll just navigate around the Darkspawn and head up north."

The woman smirked and her eyes narrowed once more, "Again, you two are dwarves who have never been to the surface until now... and he a Circle Mage. How well do you think you can navigate the Korcari Wilds? No, what you need is a guide. And fortunately for you three, I believe I have just the person for the job."

As if she had been summoned, Morrigan walked out of the hutt with an innocently unaware expression on her face. "The stew is bubbling, mother dear. Shall we have three guests for the eve or none?"

"The Grey Wardens are leaving shortly, girl. And you will be joining them." Flemeth replied.

"Such a shame..." Morrigan began before realization suddenly struck her, "What?!"

Flemeth's face took an amused expression, "You heard me, girl. The last time I looked, you had ears!" She said with a laugh.

"Just what we needed," Duran said as his eyes looked at Natia, "A scantily clad human who would probably tip over the first time a Darkspawn nudges her a wee bit."

The two dwarves chuckled before Daylen spoke up and gained their attention, "I believe it is an excellent idea."

"You would, old man." Natia spoke with a rather accusing tone of voice.

Morrigan growled before speaking, "Have I no say in this?"

"You have been itching to get out of the Wilds for years." Flemeth explained, "This is your chance. As for you, Wardens. Consider this repayment for your lives."

"We would be glad to take her with us." Daylen replied with a small smile, gaining two disbelieving eyes on him.

Natia spoke up for Duran, "Who the bloody hell made you captain of this wee squad we got going on here?"

"I did." Daylen spoke, "The one with more intellect than the two of you combined."

"Why you large piece of aged nug droppings!" Duran spoke out in anger, trying to go after the mage before Natia stopped him.

"Mother... this is not how I wanted this. I'm not even ready-" Morrigan began to speak before getting interrupted by Flemeth.

"You must be ready. Alone, the remainder of the Wardens which could very well be these three need to unite Ferelden against the Darkspawn. They need you, Morrigan. Without you they will surely fail, and all will perish under the Blight. Even I." The elderly Witch spoke.

"I... understand." Morrigan replied defeatedly.

Flemeth once again turned her attention to the three bickering Wardens, which gained their attention as well. "And you, Wardens? Do you understand? I give you that which I value above all in this world. I do this because you must succeed."

"We understand." They all said in unison.

Morrigan nodded before heading back inside to gather a few valuables. She met them back outside in five minutes, where she found the Wardens prepared for travel and still arguing with one another. It was going to be a long trip, and she wished that they would shut their mouths upon leaving the safety of Flemeth's hut.

"I am at your disposal, Grey Wardens. I suggest a village north of the Wilds as our first destination. 'Tis not far and you will find much you need there. Or, if you prefer, I shall simply be your silent guide. The choice is yours." The Witch stated with her seemingly usual unamused tone.

Daylen and the three spoke amongst themselves, "We wish you to speak your mind, Morrigan. After all, you're a part of our little group now."

"Ha! You will regret saything that." Flemeth said in a teasing manner.

"Dear, sweet mother, you are so kind to cast me out like this. How fondly shall I remember this moment." Morrigan replied.

"Well. I always said if you want something done, do it yourself, or hear about it for a decade or two afterwards." Flemeth said with a shrug.

Daylen then stepped forward and cleared his throat, "I do apologize for interrupting, but we really should leave now. The day is wasting away and I would prefer to arrive at Lothering before sunset."

"I agree," Morrigan said, "Farewell mother. Do not forget the stew on the fire, I would hate to return to a burned-down hut."

"Bah. 'Tis far more likely you will return to see this entire area, along with my hut, swallowed up by the Blight." Flemeth responded quickly and with a relentless tone taking place in her voice.

"I... all I meant was..." Morrigan spoke sadly, her expression resembling her tone.

Flemeth replied with a softer voice, "Yes, I know. Do try to have fun, dear."

Daylen turned around and nodded at the two dwarves before Morrigan walked passed them and took the lead. It would appear that they were going to make a brief stop at Lothering before continuing northward to Castle Cousland. If they were lucky, they would arrive at the castle by tomorrow. It didn't take that long to travel around Ferelden, especially since they could find refugees and caravans heading in their same direction. The only real limitation to that was the fact most would follow the largest road in Ferelden rather than cut through half of it.

* * *

Meanwhile far to the north of the Korcari Wilds, Shadow and the large band of Vanguards had made camp. They had regrouped with Lyna and the other Wardens as well as the rest of the Vanguard warband a few hours past. They were tired from constantly being on the move and needed rest.

"Judging from the surroundings, we are about half way to the Castle." The leader of the Vanguard, named Firlan spoke. "Should take us about 'til midday if we leave first thing tomorrow morning. This is a good position, however, we've got the obvious sight advantage on this hill."

"Very well. Neria, come with me and help me aid the wounded. Lyna, help the Vanguard keep watch whilst the others set up camp." Shadow ordered before he and the young elvish mage moved over to the three wounded Wardens.

Neria shook her head, "It's a miracle how they survived the battle with wounds like these."

Shadow nodded, "Pay more attention to Alistair as I need your healing expertise focused on him, I will focus on Daveth. Elissa's wounds are minor and have already been dealt with."

The female mage nodded as she began focusing healing magics on the critically wounded Warden, though began to speak to Shadow. "You really should talk with Lyna when you are done patching Daveth up." She said softly, "Not that it's really any of my business."

"It isn't in the slightest." Shadow growled back as he began to place soaked bandages on the man's exposed chest. His cuts weren't worth the expense of magic, but they weren't simple enough to go without some aid.

"Look, all I'm saying is that she evidently likes you a lot. You can't just play her, it would tear her apart." She continued on, eventually stopping the healing magic and reaching for bandages. "It's none of my business, but I'd rather not see one of my friends in these dark times get lost."

Shadow let out yet another growl of annoyance as he finished bandaging Daveth. Once his business was complete, he stood up and walked over to Lyna who was making good use of her vision. The hill they were on was covered by trees, as was a lot of the land below; but she could still see far into the distance. Anyone who was moving nearby would be spotted by her, as long as they were in her field of vision. Shadow was not within her vision, of course, so when he placed his hand on her shoulder she jumped and nearly stabbed him in the kidney with her dagger. An attack that would have been successful if he hadn't grabbed onto her wrist.

Once the Dalish huntress knew who was beside her, she took a more peaceful and calm stance. She pulled her hand free from him and sheathed her dagger, her face warm for some odd, yet not-so-unknown reason.

"Shadow." She muttered quietly, her eyes going back to scanning the distance.

The man nodded slowly, "I believe we made a deal back at Ostagar, and we survived so I suppose that means..." He took a deep breath in, exhaling very slowly. "...That we can start a relationship and get to know one another properly. No secrets or anything, starting today."

"I would like that a lot. But, I didn't mean to force you back there. If you truly don't want to, we don't have to pursue something like this." Lyna replied, placing her gaze onto him now.

"Eh, if I didn't want to I wouldn't have agreed. In times like these, it is good to have someone to hold onto. Especially since we may not see the end of this Blight. With Loghain betraying us and the King, we have no choice but to fight two wars. We need to get to Castle Cousland, sort everything out, and get to work. There will be no time for delay, even us resting here right now poses a great risk. What I'm saying is... in order for us to get through to the other side of this age, we'll need the Creators' blessings." He spoke with a grim tone.

Lyna slowly placed her arm around him, leaning into him which caught him off guard. "Do you think we will make it out with our lives?"

Shadow shook his head, "There is no way for me to answer that. Just know that if we fall, the Orlesian Wardens should be able to prevail where we failed. The only downside is that if we fall, all of Ferelden goes with us."

"Then we aren't to lose." Elissa said as she rubbed the back of her throbbing head. "I'll die before my homeland is ravaged by the Darkspawn, and whatever is left afterwards is reclaimed by the Orlesians."

Shadow chuckled, "At least your motivations are in... or close to the right places. We get a few hours' worth of rest, and then we continue marching the rest of the way North. With any luck we'll be seeing those two dwarves and their Knight-Enchanter companion soon."

* * *

The rest of the day, night, and most of the next day had passed without any real events. Ferelden was scrambling around trying to screw its head on straight. Daylen, the two dwarves, and Morrigan had stopped in the small village of Lothering. A village that had already seen hell, and would see more soon enough. The group of Wardens hastily recruited a Sister of the Chantry who went by the name of Leliana. Along the way, Natia decided to pick the lock of a cage that held a prisoner; a Qunari who went by the Name-Title of Sten. They didn't stop for anything else other than to refill on essential items such as food, drink, and potions. They did help a child find his way to the Chantry to be taken care of - his mother had been ravaged by wolves. Soon they found themselves on the Imperial Highway, taking the long and cautious way to Castle Cousland by means of passing the Circle Tower. They knew of the betrayal Loghain had pulled at Ostagar, and knew his forces as well as any of his allies would be watching the road to Denerim.

They ran into a few Highwaymen, a couple groups of Darkspawn, and some hostile wildlife. Ultimately, their trip was decent and without any real harm. They found themselves inside Castle Cousland during the dinner hour, the sun had begun to set and night would be upon them within another hour's time. The group of six made their way into the Main Hall, the Cousland's Vanguard opening the large reinforced wooden doors for them. They entered the Hall and saw Shadow, Lyna, Darrian, and Neria standing there as servants placed food upon the large table.

"Shadow!" Duran and Natia called out, causing the Wardens ahead of them to all turn around.

The dwarves rushed for them whilst Daylen, Morrigan, Leliana, and Sten just walked up to them. "Where's the others? Alistair, and Daveth? Elissa? Please tell me they made it lad." Duran asked Shadow.

The Black Warden nodded, "They did indeed make it, but barely. Had we not been there to retrieve them, they'd be overrun with Darkspawn. Daveth and Alistair are getting taken care of by medics, while Elissa has gone to talk to her brother. It has come to my attention Loghain abandoned the battle in our time of need. I see you three have made some friends."

"Indeed! The nearly naked one is Morrigan. The redheaded robed one is Leliana, and the big respectable lad is Sten!" Duran reported with a smile, waiting to hear their responses to his introductions.

Morrigan simply hissed, "I am not nearly naked, dwarf. I just prefer to travel light." She replied with venom in her voice.

"Sure. If that's what ye surfacers call it." Natia said with a chuckle of her own.

"A pleasure to meet you, Shadow. The two Wardens and their mage companion have told us a lot about you on our journey." The Sister said with a polite bow.

Sten simply remained silent, save for a grunt and nod he sent in Shadow's direction. The towering Qunari didn't seem to interested in being within a human castle. Nevertheless, Shadow gave them all a respective bow. The Morrigan woman intrigued him, as they had met a couple times before. Not formally, but he had observed her and had a feeling she did the same to him. She was one of the Witches of the Wilds, but such tales didn't put fear into his heart. Leliana he had a good feeling about. Her presence was one of warmth and safety, though cold secrets lingered behind the surface. She had a great many secrets within her, that much he could tell by her presence alone. Sten was a Qunari. From the name, or title, alone he could tell the Qunari was a warrior.

"Now, please let us take our seats. Elissa should be coming with Lord Cousland and his new advisor shortly to join us." Shadow said as the large group made their way to the table and took their seats.

Shadow sat on one end of the table alone, with Lyna to his right and Neria to his left. To Neria's left were Daylen, Morrigan, Duran, and Natia. To Lyna's right were Darrian, Leliana, and Sten. Elissa would fill in the gap whilst Aedan and his new adviser would fill the other end of the table opposite of Shadow.

They had some minor talk with each other of various topics. The only one who remained silent was Shadow. He felt something within the castle that didn't sit quite well with him. A presence he hadn't felt in a long time, as well as something relatively recent. It almost felt like Darkspawn were there, but it was such a feint sense that he couldn't trust it. In fact, his worrying of the presence of old overcame his worry of the Darkspawn possibly being near the castle. A few minutes passed until Elissa came walking in with her brother and a rather young woman with purple eyes. Immediately Shadow's blue eyes turned a fiery blood-red and interacted with the woman's, causing a similar shade of red to take over her purple eyes. Ysil halted before tearing her gaze from Shadow's, looking down at the ground as she followed Aedan and took her seat beside him.

Shadow was put off. He knew exactly what that reaction meant, and it worried him above all else. Where was Duncan when he needed the man? Duncan was the only one he confided in, as they were friends before Shadow even had become a Warden. Whatever that woman was, she had contact with Vanessa. The demon Ysizx. In what way he did not know, but whenever the demon was involved he knew something was wrong.

"Welcome to my Castle, Wardens. I am honored that you took me up on my offer as you have all been officially labeled as traitors to Ferelden. Of course, I know better than that. Grey Wardens have never went for political gain in the past, and those that have were never true Wardens like you lot. Whether Anora's newly appointed Regent likes to admit it or not, your order is now more necessary than ever before." Aedan said with a smile, "I seek to restore peace to Ferelden and help you in any way I can, Wardens. I am also sorry about the loss your order has sustained at Ostagar. It can't be easy losing that many friends."

"It is not, my Lord. I'm honored as well that you have welcomed us into your home, as not many would allow such a thing now. I am afraid, though, that our stay will be brief as we've a lot of work to get done." Shadow responded with a smile of his own, despite being disappointed by having his thoughts torn from him.

Ysil was fixated on Shadow. She felt funny when her gaze met that man's. It was almost like his presence overwhelmed her mother's and began to fill her with doubt. He was a Grey Warden, and surely he meant to do good for the world. Much like Ysil herself had wanted, but being a Warden meant he couldn't allow the Logosha to live. There were so many 'what ifs' in her mind that it was driving her mad. She had so much to ask him, his mother feared him after all! Perhaps her mother was wrong, and she only created the Darkspawn for some bad deed and told Ysil it was for the best. Demon or no, Vanessa was her mother! The situation was complicated and for once in her life she felt like she didn't know what to do. She didn't know it, but this and more was what her mother is afraid of. Shadow could very easily turn Ysil against her.

Shadow acknowledged Ysil's gaze and knew that he would have to talk with her later. Contrary to what he originally thought, perhaps she could be useful. Intelligence on Vanessa, as well as the Logosha. Perhaps if he played his cards right, the Logosha could be useful against the Blight? Hah! That was an idea, pitting the Darkspawn against their relatively new cousins. Of course, all of this was still assumption. He wouldn't know until he captured one of the Vanguard, or spoke with this 'Ysil.' Something about her made him feel as if she had his blood coursing through her veins. A possibility, especially considering her age and likeness.

"Ah, of course! I had almost forgotten. Let us eat then, and enjoy our night before our busy days take over!" Aedan said.

Literally everyone let out a sigh of relief as they began to fill their plates of food. Even Morrigan and Sten let out sounds of happiness when they heard they could fill their stomachs. Such a thing would normally have scared the people that knew them... but those three were busy filling their plates as well. Tonight was going to be a night of relaxation as well as knowledge gathering for Shadow. He would ask to speak with Ysil alone after they ate. He wanted to know more about her, and the suddenly appearing Vanguard. He noticed one of the Vanguard eyeing him with interest, despite the 'man' being behind a full set of armor.

* * *

An hour and a half had passed before everyone had finished their meals. The table was a mess, but rather than leave like most of the others did, Shadow and Lyna stayed behind to assist the servants in their work. Of course they tried to decline the help, after all they didn't need help doing their work. Regardless of whether they liked it or not, the two had helped clean up. Ysil had watched them from another table in the main hall, this one looking like it was more for business than food. She was sat upon a wooden chair with proper cushions, writing away whilst stealing glances at the Black Warden. Curiosity filled her as she pondered why the Shadow her mother feared was doing something so... innocently helpful.

Furthermore, she was curious about what humans saw in the elves. She could sense the Wardens' attractions to one another as if she were a part of Shadow himself. It was an odd feeling and thought. She never had felt that close to anyone, not even the Logosha. Not even Gruk. First she had to deal with Aedan and his foolish lusting self, and now she saw yet another couple on a collision course. They seemed much more tame than the young Lord, however, and they were definitely much more acceptable. They didn't hold any nobility in their blood, and so they could go unnoticed by the nobility of Thedas. Then again, the Empress of Orlais herself... Such scandalous thoughts had been duly noted and written off for later blackmail by the Dark Mother.

"You watch us as if you haven't seen a man, or just fighters in general, assist the lowly commons Lady Ysil." Shadow remarked, not even looking in the Dark Mother's direction as he finished up wiping the table off. "Is it truly that fascinating or do you have other topics on your mind, I wonder?"

Ysil chuckled lightly, "I'll have you know all of my men have faced the dangerous duties of housekeeping at least once in their lifetimes."

"Indeed? Then they must be true men, if they surpass the average soldier's belief that they can just go and slop a place up and leave it." Shadow said in compliment as he and Lyna finished cleaning up. "Well, we're done here. We shall head to our quarters and leave you in peace if that is alright with you, my Lady."

"Of course. Good night, Grey Wardens. I do hope to speak with you more tomorrow." She replied with a smile, watching as the two bowed and left the Main

**Oaths:**

Shadow slowly opened his eyes and saw the roof of the house they were staying in. Admittedly, he hadn't slept inside of a castle of such standards. The place had been ransacked not too long ago, yet it still looked very fancy. Well, at least the interiors did. Everything else was a bit... crumbly still. It was then when he started to realize his surroundings and felt something warm clutching onto his right arm. When he looked over to discover the source... he found an elf at his side. Not just any normal elf, but one he knew well. One he told to stay on her own damned bed. Ah well, he couldn't find it in his heart to deny her such a simple luxury. It unnerved him though. He felt as if they were being watched and the scandalous nature of what they were doing could land them into quite a bit of trouble with the Wardens. He wasn't referring to the relationship of a man and elf, no, he was referring to the utter disregard to Grey Warden code. If Duncan were there... hell, he wasn't even remotely close to being there. What he would have done didn't matter.

It was then the man felt compelled to kiss the top of Lyna's head, which he did softly and quite hesitantly. She smelled... of sweat, smoke, and blood. Her entire body was warm to the touch and he couldn't help but notice his thoughts were all involving her. Whilst it pained him to have to admit all of that, he also liked the feeling. That alone told him that he had to devise a plan to get her as far away from him as possible. The question was; what action could he take to possibly make that happen? Orders were all he could give to his new Wardens. Whether they chose to follow them was entirely up to them. Damn. He then removed his lips from her head and closed his eyes, concentrating on her breathing and heartbeat.

His fear of them being watched was true. Ysil stood in the doorway to the room they were in, leaning against the wooden frame as she examined the man's features. Shadow couldn't see her with his back facing her, but she could see him and Lyna. The man had power that began to influence her back at dinner. Such a thing was far from common. Her mother had gone strangely absent as well, which only worried the Mother of the Logosha. Rare was such an occurence. Danger usually followed. She caught on to Shadow's movement and quickly vanished away from the door as he turned to look. He saw nothing but a door leading to a dark hallway. He snuggled back up to Lyna and began plotting for the morning.

* * *

Three hours had passed and the sun had just began to rise. He had woken up all of his Wardens and gathered them in the house he and Lyna were designated. They were gathered in the living room of the house, with a crackling fire in the fireplace, food and drink on a table, and them all gathered around on the floor. Some were at the table, others were sitting near it but not close enough to set their plates upon it. Shadow examined them all before speaking.

"We're going to need to arrange ourselves into squads if we're to get anything done. I've decided what I wanted." Shadow said, "If you all would hear me it'd be much appreciated."

They all looked at him as if he said something shocking. "We all trust your judgement, Shadow. You've been in this business far longer than any of us have." Darrian said, "And I don't usually speak for others."

They all nodded and Shadow spoke up, "Very well. Our roster is this; Lyna, Darrian, Duran, Natia, Neria, Daylen, Elissa, Alistair, Daveth, Morrigan, Leliana, Sten, and the hound a few of you found on your way to Lothering. Taking this into consideration I've decided what groups are going to form. The two dwarves are to be together. I'm sticking Sten with you two as well. Neria, Daylen, and Darrian are another group. Daveth, Elissa, and Alistair are another. Lyna is to go with Morrigan and Leliana whilst the dog and I maintain relations with Lord Cousland and the rest of Ferelden."

Lyna bit her lip, she didn't like the idea of not being at Shadow's side. Alas, his orders at this point weren't to be denied. Such a thing could prove fatal to her if she wasn't careful.

"The dwarves are to take their group to Orzammar, despite them both having a rough time it is necessary to use the dwarvish treaties to our advantage. The mages are to head to the Circle Tower and recruit mages for our fight. Elissa is to head to Redcliffe with her team. Lyna, I want you to head to the Brecillian Forest in search of the Dalish clan there. They haven't moved so finding them should be easy enough." Shadow ordered, finally finishing and being able to take a bite from his food.

Grumbles and groans were heard amongst the group, but they all understood their assigned roles. Shadow was smart, and placed them in situations he knew they had expert knowledge in. After all, they had come from relatively similar, if not the same place.

"Remember, you are Grey Wardens now. Everything in your past is history best forgotten. You represent us as a whole, and I expect you all to uphold that responsibility. Now, finish eating and conversing. You leave by high noon." Shadow said with a smile, finishing his food hastily so he could get up and head to his room.

It wasn't long after he had entered his room that he felt Ysil's presence within it. His jaw stiffened as he turned his gaze towards the balcony, the frail wood-lined glass doors having been opened to permit access to the relatively decent sized balcony. The cloth curtains blowing in the wind, it was a cold wind, it felt like the chill of winter despite winter being far away.

"I know what you are." He called out to her as he straightened the arms of his rather noble-like suit. "The child of a man and demon. No other mage has power over Darkspawn like you, aside from me. Did you think I wouldn't feel your mother's influence being so strong on this place? The bitch imprisoned me for years, created an utter abomination out of me."

Ysil didn't turn around to look at the man, and simply kept her cold glare on the patrols outside. "We both know that isn't true. Mother cares about The-"

"Your mother possessed the body of an innocent girl, corrupted me, had me slaughter my best friend since birth for no reason, and had me use the Grey Wardens to find an isolated group of Darkspawn in the Deep Roads. Your mother wants destruction, girl. At the height of it all she tried imprisoning me. Did she tell you she tried letting more demons into this world by using me? Now one could argue that I'm half-possessed. As a mage I'd expect you would know of what a demon's sole purpose is." Shadow interrupted as he walked onto the balcony with her.

"She isn't like the other demons... she's trying to-"

"...Change the world for the better. Yes. Ysizx spun me that web before, and you are more of a fool than I thought for actually believing her. She's grooming you. Making her next vessel strong and pretty for all to behold. She's a demon of Desire, one of the most powerful types of demon. Not to mention she's your mother, one of the most powerful of them." Shadow said as he leaned on the balcony.

Ysil looked over at him, "So what are you to do? Are you to report me to the entirety of Ferelden? Kill me and destroy the Logosha?"

Shadow shook his head, "No. At least, not if you forget about your mother and abandon her. I knew your father, he was a good man and wouldn't want you to be corrupted by your mother like he was."

The woman beside him let out a soft sigh and buried her face into her hands. The man beside her did hold a lot of power, that much was known to her when his influence attempted to take over her thoughts. She knew it wasn't his fault. How could it have been? No one would do that to anyone they just met, not even her. If that was the case then she wouldn't have bothered heading to that dreaded village and making an elaborate plan to play with the Lord.

"I can't do that. She's... She's all I have left." Ysil said sadly.

Shadow shook his head again, "Your father is still out there, watching over you. You are not alone in the slightest, such a thing is merely something your mother wishes you to believe. She is controlling, and with you believing that she knows you will not try to do what is right in your own eyes."

The woman let out a soft chuckle, "You're the dreaded Shadow my mother was worried about?"

The man nodded, standing straight up and looking up at the beautiful blue sky. His height was definitely worth noticing as he towered above most humans and was almost as tall as Sten. Ysil looked up at him and gave a smirk, she didn't know what to think of the man that made her mother terrified.

"She has every reason to be afraid of me, Ysil. She knows that if you stick with her on this day and do not make an oath to stay away from her to me, I will tear everything she has fought for down to the ground. The Logosha, her influence, her contacts... you. Your father told me to protect you and I intend to do so, but I will not stand by and let you tear the world a part slowly for your mother's gain. He understood that and knew that you might not survive." Shadow said and his voice grew grim and dark.

Ysil sighed once more, "I hardly even know you, but I will think about it."

"Would you like to know more?" He asked with his eyebrow raised.

"Very much so, Lord Shadow." Ysil replied with her tone betraying her curiosity.

The man let out a single chuckle, "Then go, meet me here tonight when your duties being advisor to Lord Cousland come to a close. I will show you all you need to know about me."

With that, Ysil snapped her fingers and she disappeared in a flash. At that very moment Lyna walked into the room with a worried look on her face. It wasn't a bad look on her, but rather a playful worry. When Shadow turned around he caught onto that immediately and tilted his head.

"What?" He asked.

Lyna let out a sigh as she approached him, "You may want to switch the mage party with the dwarves. Duran is threatening to 'shove his axe right up Bhelen's kinslaying jacksie' and Natia is growling like a Mabari at the thought of returning to the city."

Shadow groaned and shook his head, "Those two are a handful."

The elf laughed and shrugged, "You said it, not me."

"Let it be known." The man replied, "Lyna... I have a question." He stated as he looked down into her eyes.

"Hm?"

"What do you find so intriguing about me? I'm thirty-six years old and have seen countless battles. I'm the least attractive man in the bunch, at least personality wise." He asked.

"What I find intriguing about you? Ah, you mean what I like about you!" She said with an upbeat tone, "Well, isn't it obvious? You're the one human who is more elf than human. Not to mention you don't take grief from anyone. And you're mysterious. And you're caring. And you're... you."

He chuckled again, "Good to know I am me. I'd better knock those dwarves in line and follow your advice."

As he went to walk away, she grabbed his arm and turned him around. "Make a girl a promise?" She asked.

"Hm?"

"Don't get into too much trouble without me, stay alive and stay where I know you are until I get back, and seal the deal with a kiss?" She asked with her eyes getting that innocent shine to them.

Shadow nodded and leaned down, hesitantly placing his lips against her own which were much softer than his. In his defense, he was a front line warrior; an Arcane Warriors, whilst she was just sitting there shooting enemies with arrows all the time. Thankfully she wasn't some sort of mind reader, otherwise he'd probably be on the ground right about then. When the kiss ended they looked into each other's eyes.

"I swear to you I will stay in or near the castle, and I won't burn anything down until you get back." He said with a smile.

"Good." She smiled back.

**Departure:**

_"And then what happened?" A woman asked, "Just skip to the important parts of the story, I am getting impatient with all the waiting! I wish to know more about the Dark Mother, her motives, and Shadow!"_

_"If you want the important parts of the story, you will have to be patient. It's best not to rush through these important times for the Wardens, especially when you are looking to befriend the sleepyhead in chains over there." A man replied, having that dwarvish tone to his voice._

_"Ugh. Just hurry on then. Skip their travels if nothing important happens." She growled._

_"It all truly began-"_

_"...With the departure of those I began to love." A strained voice spoke with red eyes peering through the darkness of the interrogation room._

* * *

Shadow watched as his friends geared up and prepared to leave the castle. They all had missions that would take them through hell, and he believed strongly in each and every one of them. Lyna had already been prepared. She was never one to take her time when gearing up, but then again she didn't have nearly as bulky of armor as the others.

"Shadow." Alistair said as he approached the unarmored Warden, stopping when they were side by side.

"I hope you are ready to confront Eamon, Alistair. I know your thoughts on your... condition, but it cannot be helped. If you and Eamon don't step in it is likely Loghain gets what he wants. With Ferelden in his grasp, he will banish us once more and spit on those we lost at Ostagar." Shadow said with a frown.

Alistair nodded, "I do not like it... but, if I absolutely need to then I shall try and get through it. I wish you could come with us, though."

"We all have our duties we **need** to accomplish. That includes me. We will see each other when we take on the Archdemon, my friend." The Warden said as Lyna approached him, and gave him a hug which he reciprocated.

Alistair's eyes widened, but he cleared his throat. "Farewell, Shadow and Lyna. I hope to see you two later."

The two nodded as the ex-Templar walked to meet with Daveth and Elissa. Shadow looked down at Lyna and she gave a smile that betrayed her fear. He gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Stop worrying. What's the worst that could happen?" He asked with a grin.

"I love you... Logan." Lyna whispered before placing her head against his chest.

Shadow didn't respond for a moment, thinking about his next words carefully. "I love you too... da'len."

Lyna's face scrunched up before she punched him in the chest, "Why did you just call me that?!"

Shadow laughed loudly, rubbing his chest as he took a step back. "I saw you get frustrated with your straps. Only children take their boots and throw them at a wall when they can't get them on properly. In all seriousness... I love you too, Lyna. Be safe."

"Stupid Shem." She grumbled before turning around and finding her group of strangers. It was at that moment he watched them depart, and he felt a bit cold. Alone. He shook his head and turned around. He and Lord Cousland had much planning and discussing to do together.

**AN: Sorry for the long wait and not-so-edited post guys. Life has been... **

**Crrazy.**


	16. Act 1 - Chapter 12

_Act 1: Alliance of the Grey_

**Chapter 12: First Comes War...**

"Reports have come in, Howe intends to attack us with a bolstered army comprised of his own forces leading the mercenaries from the North." Ysil said loudly as she, Shadow, and Aedan moved into the Main Hall of the castle.

Shadow chuckled, "This just in, Ysil, there's an advancing army of Darkspawn coming from Ostagar with the entirety of Thedas in its sight! Lord Cousland surely cannot deal with two advancing armies simultaneously, and I'd say humans are less of a worry than the things killing the land just by stepping upon it!"

"Blighted lands recover given time, though I see your point. But I also see Ysil's. I have to choose, and due to that lone fact; I am going to be facing Howe, not the Darkspawn in the days to come." Aedan said as he moved around to the other side of the desk, taking his seat to begin writing and dispatching letters to all Arls and Banns to form a meeting. "I am sorry."

Shadow ran his hand through his beard before glaring at the young Lord, "Are you fucking her, boy? Is that what this is? Or are you just so daft you think that because blighted lands recover, you can simply just fight your own kin whilst the Darkspawn ravage and rape the entirety of Ferelden in their march for the Northern coast?"

"I wouldn't recommend insulting me, Shadow, you are surrounded by creatures that no doubt hate you for what you are, and I am not one to be very forgiving of hostility." Lord Cousland responded sharply as he glanced over at the beautiful woman standing beside Shadow, "And no, I am not engaged in any relationship with the Lady other than the fact that she is a valued member of my council."

The Grey Warden simply shook his head, turning around and marching towards the doors from which he had just came. 'Idiot's damned us all. I won't see this world fall to the hands of those vermin. Not with what Ysizx almost did in the creation of the Logosha.' He thought quietly to himself as he walked outside. It was barely morning the day after the Grey Wardens had left to carry out their missions. The Circle, Dalish, Dwarves... Shadow just hoped that they would all be safe. They had taken too many casualties during the slaughter at Ostagar. So Arl Howe was making a move on the castle again?

Shadow applauded the man's efforts, but with what was rising in the South he couldn't figure out how all of these men in power could ignore it. If Shadow was in charge, he'd place men for the Darkspawn first rather than last. What was the point in fighting each other if there may not even be a Ferelden left because of it? Whatever their reasoning, Shadow hoped that it wouldn't turn out to be like that. He loved Ferelden, Thedas, and just life in general. There were many good things within it, that whilst he knew he could never have a chance at any of it... he would protect it so that some other peasant boy of a similar life as his pre-adventurer life could live it for him. Ysil was dangerous. Especially if she was that willing to make Aedan focus his efforts on trivial matters. Yes, the boy would have to protect his land whilst also fighting the Darkspawn, but he was devoting his entire focus to one enemy. That was something no one could do when surrounded by multiple opponents. If Shadow ever focused on one warrior whilst fighting a group he would have died a long time ago, and he knew that. That was why he thought the boy was foolish.

Perhaps there would be a way to save Ferelden. A war on two fronts. After all, he knew the secrets of controlling the Logosha. If you hadn't means to control them like Ysil did by birth naturally, you'd need that pendant that she wears constantly. Oh, how he had noticed that intriguing piece of should-be-destroyed history. It was dark magic, what she was wearing all over herself. That amulet had the power to influence kings without doing so much as saying 'hello.' One long forgotten Cousland had slain an insane would-be-king somewhere in the mountains to end his reign of terror. What mountains no one ever knew. Little details like that were lost in history, and the whole story became rumor. He had been using the amulet created by something not of the world they lived in to take over the minds of anything who dared near it. The Couslands hadn't needed to ever worry though. At least not the young Lord's ancestor. He was somehow immune to the effects.

Regardless, the amulet wasn't what he needed. He was there during the creation of the Logosha. He saw what Ysizx did, and understood how she did it. Unbeknownst to Ysizx, at least until fairly recently in history, Shadow had performed a ritual she had her latest lover perform. It was something akin to Blood Magic, or the Joining each Grey Warden had to undergo. But rather than receive the effects, such as knowing when a Logosha was present, they recognized your superiority over them. They recognized what you were. What were you, once you took the ritual? Normal Darkspawn have the Archdemon, and the Archdemon loosely has the Logosha. Well, at least it did before Ysil gained leadership over them. The Logosha have their little council and then they had more or less, what they envisioned to be gods. They were nothing of the sort. One was a demon possessing the body of a rogue mage, poor girl. Another was a noble knight who had a secret infatuation with the demon. There was a third, the love child between the demon and an unknown suitor. She was either the Knight's or the last 'god's of the Logosha's made-up pantheon. And the last was something that vanished shortly after the first Logosha was born. Like shadow to flame.

Yes. The Logosha had and still maintained a religion. There was no sin within their religion, but there were tenants they must follow or else they would invoke the wrath of their gods. It wasn't a simple religion by any means, and many of the Logosha wouldn't live to see their extended lifetimes. Mainly due to their purpose in life. Those that lived long enough to see such a life were revered as living legends. Myths that had actually been reality. But that was beside the point.

Shadow moved into one of the smaller barracks situated within the castle. With as many soldiers as the Couslands had, they needed such places built to house many men. Due to the sacking of the place many of those housing areas were destroyed or blocked off for repairs. A plus to the Logosha taking over was the fact that there were barely any men to compete for housing with, due to a lot of them having been slaughtered. Those that survived? Let's just say they were being made into a special little group by Aedan.

The Logosha that were in the barracks turned and looked at the intruder, seemingly in unison. Before anything could happen, Shadow's eyes were burning with a blood red fire that could only be described as demonic. The Logosha's eyes soon after were enveloped in the fire as well, and they all stood up and gave the man a proper salute. Some of them even falling to their knees out of respect.

"Hail, Lord!" They said loudly in unison, addressing Shadow in a formal way. It seemed that they knew exactly who he was.

Shadow smirked before issuing one command; "Follow me."

* * *

"Nothing as far as the eye can see, sir." One of Howe's scouts reported to the approaching Sergeant. "Only thing I've seen all day is wildlife and a few small groups heading in various directions. Not marked as Couslands."

The man simply glared at the woman, "And you didn't call for them to be captured or at the very least processed?"

"N-No, ser. I didn't think it was-"

"You are not paid to **think**, Private! You've made a potential mess for us due to your blunder! Now, I'm not certain but I am pretty damned sure all of us were there for Teyrn Howe's orders! There is no excuse!" The Sergeant barked at the woman, they were quite a ways away from the bulk of their forces as well.

"B-But ser! There wasn't a thing I could do! I'm just a scout and you surely know that the main attack force is behind by an hour!" The scout replied in a desperate voice.

The heavily armoured man simply shook his head, "Failure to uphold your orders will not be tolerated within this army, Private. I've been given the command to kill any who sympathize with the enemy, and letting unknown persons escape is more or less sympathizing with those Cousland bastards."

"Y-You don't mean-" The Private asked, slowly backing up with her eyes wide in fear.

Before the man could close in on his kill a throwing knife implanted itself straight between his eyes. He collapsed backwards like a sack of bricks, and as the woman spun around she saw a blinding flash of light. She heard multiple footsteps close in on her, but the light had still been impairing her vision.

"I do think we are going in the wrong direction, Ser Darrian." An elderly voice spoke.

A soft giggle, from a woman was heard shortly after. "I wonder how you figured that out, Master Amell?"

"Probably the fact that we just killed one of the Arl's men, and have just heard that there are more about an hour's journey from here in that direction." A stronger voice than the two observed, its tone having some form of elegance to it. "What should we do with her?" The man asked.

"Killing her would be a mistake at the moment. She could have a lot of information on her. Though it seems her superiors want her dead." The elderly man replied, "I say we knock her out and drag her with us a ways, interrogate her, and then seal her fate."

The woman's voice interfered shortly after, "A good idea for those with the resources to support her. She'd just kill us like a leech would. Devour our resources until we have no choice but to die."

"My name is Darrian. Can you see me? Hear me?" The scout heard the stronger voice of the three speak.

She slowly nodded, but she was so disoriented that she didn't know if she **actually** did or not. So she replied to him in a soft, scared voice. "Y-Yes... I can't see but I can hear."

"What did you do to her?" She heard the female voice whisper.

"Flashed her with a bright enough light to cause temporary vision loss. It should dissipate within the next few minutes." The elderly voice replied, and she felt relieved to hear that knowledge. She thought she had been permanently blinded.

"Can you tell me your name, miss?" Darrian asked her softly, and she felt a pressure placed onto her shoulder. "And what you are doing here? I promise you that we will keep you safe. You won't have to worry about your superiors any longer."

"M-My name is Gwenievere. I am scouting for Teyrn Howe's army... along with six others. We've a large raiding force heading straight f-" She began to inform the seemingly friendly man before feeling something penetrate her back.

She could tell that it wasn't a fatal wound, or really anything more than just barely a cut. Something had blocked the full impact, and what that was she could only guess. The man who was in front of her right now had to have saved her. Meanwhile she heard loud horns sound within the forest and recognized them immediately. The vanguard of the raiding party. If it was one thing anyone could give Rendon Howe credit for, it was that he knew how to run his military. Though some of his strategies, like the one in question, seemed to have been revised versions of Loghain's own. The raiding party was layered. You had the outer scouts which included people like Gwen there, and then you had the vanguard. The vanguard were positioned to help the scouts in case they encountered a heavy body of people. They were armed to the teeth, and covered up so that they were the equivalent to walking walls. Then you had the bulk of the force that walked an hour behind the vanguard. This ensured that whether the vanguard succeeded or fell, their enemies would still get pounced upon and killed.

"You aren't supposed to catch arrows with your arm, Darrian!" The elderly man said loudly before the female interfered. "Now would be a great time to pack up and run!"

"Running is useless. They will just hunt us down like rabid dogs. How many are here, Gwenievere?" Darrian growled, snapping the shaft of the arrow so it'd be easier to remove later.

The blinded woman shook her head, "If they arrived this soon... twenty five? Maybe a bit more."

"We can hold the line. Are there any immediate reinforcements for them or will this plan of mine actually work?" Darrian asked as he prepared for the advancing soldiers.

"Not anything that should cause concern, ser... if anything just a few scouts. Unless the battle rages on for a prolonged period of time." The woman muttered before falling backwards, her whole being suddenly feeling very disoriented and dizzy.

Darrian shook his head at the scout before rushing towards the line of men. He noted as his blade caught on fire, and when he struck one of the soldiers the man was set alight in the mage's righteous flames. It was often said that war was an activity heroes and monsters took part in for the sole purpose to destroy one another. In reality, war was a place only for monsters. The atrocities one would have to commit in order to survive was something that couldn't be ignored by anyone, but often did go unnoticed. Like right now, Darrian's strike at the soldier had caused the man prolonged agony. He would either die a slow and painful death, or live to be in pain for the rest of his life due to his intense burns. The elf simply hadn't the time to end him properly.

Whilst Darrian and Neria were busy fighting the attackers, Daylen approached the female scout. His cold glare met the woman who was lying down, and for a moment he felt pity for her. That did not mean he was going to stop what he was about to do. He only had one chance to do this, seeing as how the battle would keep Darrian and his Apprentice busy for a time. The woman would be too dangerous to keep with them on this journey. Whilst he and Neria weren't Grey Wardens themselves, they were determined to act like they were. This Gwenievere was a potential risk to the mission. One he couldn't allow.

"Forgive me..." Daylen whispered to the woman as he drew his dagger and quickly slit her throat with it, making sure to place his hand over her mouth so she didn't make any noise.

The mage's plan had indeed worked. The battle was too fierce for the others to realize what he had just done. Darrian was up to his neck in enemies, having to use a lot of his stamina and agility to block and deflect attacks whilst Neria empowered him. Of course, that wasn't to say she wasn't doing her fair share of the damage, but with the wounds Darrian was taking she had to be alert. Healing any minor to moderate wound he got was the least she could do. They knew that they were heavily outnumbered, but with their skillsets they were ready to face such a threat. Besides, these men seemed more like new mercenaries than actual trained soldiers. Perhaps that was what Howe had wanted for the Vanguard, useless and expendable men to keep the enemy preoccupied whilst his real force attacked. He'd just have to ask Gwen about it after. Soon Daylen joined the fight, unleashing attacks that not only killed, but severely demoralized the enemy.

The fight went on for what felt like an age, but really was only half an hour. The last of Howe's men were cut down by Darrian as they tried to flee. It was at this time the elf saw the lifeless corpse of Gwenievere with a body hunched over her. How did that happen? Who killed the man?

"Damn it! The scout!" He said loudly before rushing over to her, seeing that her throat was slashed with the man's dagger.

The two mages walked over to him and the elder of the group let out a soft sigh. "She is dead, and Howe's men cannot be too far away any longer. We need to leave."

Darrian slowly looked back at the man, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Unfortunately, it was suspicion without evidence. Yet. So he stood up and sheathed his swords.

"You're right. Back to the highway to head to the Tower?" He asked.

Both of them nodded and motioned for him to take the lead. The Circle Tower was quite a journey away. They could make it by nightfall if they didn't stop, and hurried there. Otherwise it'd take a day to get there. If only it was just Civil War and not Darkspawn. The Darkspawn were fast movers, they raided and kept on pushing. They didn't really need to stop for much other than to eat. And even that was rare during Blights. This was going to be a long fight. For everyone.


	17. Act 1 - Chapter 13

_Act 1: Alliance of the Grey_

**Chapter 13: The Road Home**

**AN: I apologize for any inconsistencies in this chapter, or the chapters to come compared to the first ones. It is at this point I have officially made the characters, cataloged them, and can use them from now on while staying true to their lore. The main story isn't affected, but each character's appearance/personality/goals/backstory may be slightly altered from what was previously stated. Thank you for your understanding, and enjoy the wee li'l arse kickers and their towering friend.**

* * *

"Place looks like shite." Natia stated as they walked into Lothering, well, what was left of it. "An' true to appearance it smells worse than me mate's poo after eating a spiced, ill Nug."

The place was a hollow shell of what it used to be. Corpses were strewn about, the severed heads of countless peasants slammed onto jagged spikes. The smell was that of death and decay. A putrid concoction that, to the uninitiated, would be enough to make them spit out last Sunday's dinner. The ground they walked was cracked and chilled to the core. It was unfertile, meaning that the farmland that was once there probably would be no more for years to come. They all hoped that wasn't the case, but it more than likely was. The Darkspawn spread nothing but death to everything around them. This war wouldn't be for the faint of heart. Nor would it be for the strongest of men. This was a Blight. Everyone wasn't meant for it, but due to man's greed, and sacrilege, this was the curse laid upon all.

"I can agree with you on that, but I don't think now is the time to state such things. We need to get out of this village before the Darkspawn come and start something." Duran grumbled as he kept on moving along the road.

Out of his two companions, Sten liked Duran the most. It wasn't really affection, though, as much as it was respect. He respected Duran, as their ideals often aligned. What was the sense in drudging about through a dead village? If the Darkspawn attacked, they would attack in kind. But they were on a mission. One that they could not drift away from. The longer they stayed in this village, talking about its stench and how it looked, the more Darkspawn got to pour into the North. Let alone their risk of being discovered rising.

Though Lothering was a most suspicious sight to them all. The Darkspawn had reached its boundaries. That much was apparent by the presence of death everywhere. Though they saw the corpses from both sides... where was the Blight? The massive horde of Darkspawn? Hell, not a living Darkspawn was in sight. Nevertheless, the group continued walking forward. They couldn't get any further behind. If Duran knew Dwarven politics, there would already be civil war within Orzammar. Why? The King was dead, and his treacherous brother would be fighting to seize the title **he** rightfully inherited. Though not all was a total loss. If they hurried, Lord Harrowmont might have survived long enough to greet them. An oversight on Shadow's part was that he sent two exiled Dwarves and a Qunari warrior to Orzammar... That wouldn't play out too well. Or so the retired Dwarven noble thought.

Civil war was too big of a word for it. There wouldn't be outright fighting. In the streets there'd be peasants fighting each other, or possibly the guards, but there would be no real conflict. Orzammar knew better. The moment they tried that, the Darkspawn would come crashing through the gates in order to make sure the last city of the Dwarves was filled with corpses. No, there'd be assassination attempts, bribery, and who knew what else going on. Lord Harrowmont wasn't like that... but Bhelen? Bhelen killed his own brother and got his other brother exiled all because of his lust for the throne. He was a traitor, and needed to be put down like the sick nug he was.

"I smell something foul on the wind." Sten stated rather emotionlessly as they reached the center of the village. "An ambush."

As if they were summoned, Darkspawn had appeared from the sides of the road. Some of them had left the abandoned, ruined buildings of the village, whislt others came from the withering plants on the opposite side of the road. They were numerous, but nothing the Dwarves hadn't taken on by themselves. Together they could probably take on a few legions of Darkspawn before falling. With Sten, that only tripled their chaotic power. Between the three of them they would be a force to be reckoned with. Anything that tried killing them would probably find it to be a difficult task. One that was near impossible when all three of them were in a rage like stance.

The Darkspawn wasted no time, and neither did the group of three. The three knew better. As soon as Darkspawn showed their faces, it meant it was time to fight to the death. Sometimes, however, the Darkspawn would give some extra time before a battle to intimidate and spread fear amongst their enemies. This was witnessed by many at Ostagar, which proved that their methods, no matter how primal and brutal, were most effective. However, most Dwarves knew something about the Darkspawn and that was rather quite simple; why sit there why they try to scare you, when you could be up there chopping their heads off. This time, however, the Darkspawn made the first moves.

There were too many of them for any of the three to count successfully. What was known was that there would be a long battle within this village, and then a painful sprint out of it. They'd probably get hunted down as well, which meant even more fighting was on the horizon. Darkspawn were relentless, and the only way they would let these three go would be if the Archdemon demanded it. Natia was not a Dwarf of high endurance, but for what she lacked in that regard she made up for in offensive capability. In some cases, like when you already had a solid defense, an offense was what was needed.

When the two large Darkspawn groups collided with the three man team, all hell broke loose right there. Immediately Darkspawn were falling in various different ways. With Natia, she made quick and precise stabs and slashes with her daggers. This left Darkspawn to fall down to the ground when she was done with them, often times with gaping holes in their throats that coated the ground in a fresh layer of black blood. For Duran, the occasional limb was chopped off of his opponent. For the most part though, he was making deep gashes in the sides and heads of the Darkspawn. Their armor could withstand a lot, but Duran's axe was a lot sharper and a lot more powerful than it looked. If he really wanted to, he could probably chop a Genlock in half vertically **and** horizontally. Sten was a bit more brutal, and often times hit more than just one opponent. Very rarely did one of the Darkspawn he was attacking fall in one piece. It was usually cleaved in two. His sword could go through two, and possibly three Darkspawn depending on their breed before it hit the forth and dealt some kind of weakened blow to it. Darkspawn could live awhile after sustaining wounds that would normally send men down for the count, so to say that they also fell, but in one piece was a lie.

After fifteen minutes of battle it became apparent to the group that they weren't making any real progress. At least nothing that they could be proud of. They had barely moved far from their original starting point, and were completely surrounded by Darkspawn. This meant that all three had to go on the defensive. Not even Natia could afford to attempt something of an offensive nature. It was a dangerous situation to be in, but they could handle it. They **had **to be able to handle it. If they didn't, then all of Thedas would fall. No one could allow that to happen.

"We need to make a move towards the village exit! On the Imperial Highway!" Duran called out as blocked an attack with the long reinforced hilt of his axe.

Natia chuckled as she quickly deflected an attack and retaliated by sticking her blade in the neck of a Genlock. "How do ye propose we do tha'? We're surrounded by the bleedin' things!"

"We carve a path." Sten stated simply before cleaving through five Darkspawn, leaving their two-pieced corpses on the ground where they fell.

"Aye, what the big guy said! We're going to need to put together our efforts and make for an exit. Preferably the one leading to where we're going." Duran called out again before quickly sending his axe deep into the chest of a Hurlock. He retrieved the weapon just in time to stop a Genlock's advances. "We need to make that move quickly before an Ogre or something of the like shows up!"

"Then let's do it now!" Natia growled as she began to go crazy on multiple Darkspawn.

They focused on a single section of the Darkspawn, with Sten suppressing all sides of the enemies. Whilst the Dwarves carved a path, Sten was making sure that anyone who dared get close enough were without heads the next moment. Within five minutes they were free from the massive group and were rushing towards the highway. They were already tiring, or at least the Dwarves were. Sten still had quite a bit of fight left in him. He had been cut across the stomach, but such a wound was nothing new to the Qunari.

When they made it to the highway, they were immediately stopped. What they had just come across was something they had not wanted to deal with at the moment. Immediately they became hostile, taking fighting stances and holding their ground on the highway despite their Darkspawn pursuers. The Dwarves recognized the heraldry on the shields ahead of them.

"Loghain's men! Cut them down where they stand; no survivors!" Duran shouted as he charged, the only confirmation and persuasion Sten needed.

Natia was rushing towards them as well, "Aye, tell us somethin' we don't know!" She replied loudly before jumping into the air, landing on one of the knight's shoulders.

Her blades went for the man's weakest spots of armor, also known as the chain that covered up said weak spots. Of course there were a few areas without chain, but they were inaccessible to her at the moment. No chain-mail could resist her daggers' tips anyway. Soon the man found himself to be a reenactment of the sails common to hardcore pirates; the skull and crossbones. Though this time it was skull and daggers. As he collapsed to the ground, two of his lightly armored comrades tried to help. They were met with a great-sword in their stomachs, tearing their flesh and spilling what lied inside of their bodies. Duran slammed his axe into an archer's skull, sending the man down to his knees. The Dwarf laughed before hearing a loud roar behind them.

"Leave the rest to the Darkspawn, we need to get our arses outta here before that thing tears us new ones!" Natia shouted as she saw the terrifying display; an Ogre twice the size of any she knew.

Sten turned and looked at the beast, "We should claim its head, so it cannot take ours later." He replied.

"Oh sod that idea! We're getting out of here! Run!" Duran commanded, forcing his two companions to follow his orders or be left behind.

* * *

And so they ran for what seemed like an age. They did not stop, they did not look back, nor did they question why they were running. The time it would have taken to get out of there the hard way would have been an age within itself. There were too many Darkspawn, too many of Loghain's men. The only option for the three man squad was to run, and to never look back. They all subconsciously agreed to never return to Highever using the South highway. Such at thing was dangerous now; later it would be insanely suicidal. They ran for two miles before their exhaustion caught up with them. Dwarves had a lot of stamina, as did Qunari, but with their gear and their sizes rest was required. It would not be a long rest. It would not be an overnight rest. It would be a mere break to catch their breaths, and prepare themselves for the last leg of their journey. They would not stop again until they reached the gates of Orzammar. Even then, there would be no time for rest. There would only be time for work. Such was their life.

They had quite the journey left ahead of them, and they all knew that. Save for perhaps Sten, who only knew that it was quite the distance away from Highever. It would take them half a day to get there, considering they were not stopping to rest at night. With the Darkspawn more than likely hot on their trail, they all took their final breaths of recovery before hitting the road again. This time they were at a much more lenient pace, but that was only so they could go longer without needing a ten minute break.

They were all silent for the rest of their uneventful journey. They had nothing to say to one another. They had just been in a fight, and they had just ran from a massive group of Darkspawn. The vanguard of the Blight. Those that came before the rest of the advancing horde. Arguably the strongest, as there was little to no warning of their approach. One minute they were there, the next minute your village was full of corpses and set ablaze whilst the land decayed.

"What's that up ahead?" Sten asked as they finally traversed through the final mountain pass to Orzammar.

Duran shrugged as he continued walking, "That there is our home, Orzammar. The last city of the Dwarves. Well, the last city to stand strong against the Darkspawn and the other natural predators of the Deep Roads. What you are seeing though, is actually the trading center on the surface. Many men and women from the surface get gathered around to hopefully sell their goods to our people."

"Not that. Them." Sten replied as he pointed dead ahead of them, where several well armed humans were now bearing weapons.

"Oh. That's... Uh..." Duran said as he stopped and scratched his beard, that was odd. The traders were never hostile before...

Natia huffed, "Sod it! Let's just feed these humans to the worms!" She declared before rushing them.

"Natia!" Duran shouted, though knew it was of no use to try and stop the woman.

Soon the three companions had their weapons drawn and were charging towards the enemy. Natia had already made contact with the mercenaries. They wore the emblem of Loghain, which only meant they were on his payroll. That traitor had caused so much grief for Ferelden. The nation didn't need to be in a civil war at the moment. Perhaps if it weren't for Loghain's betrayal, the Blight wouldn't have gotten as far as it had thus far. Though times like these were much more easier on the last Dwarven stronghold. The Darkspawn were too busy focusing on the surface to try and strike at Orzammar.

There wasn't enough time to think about such thoughts, however, as the heat of battle consumed all of them. Sten didn't think much of the battle, as the mercenaries that were there required a little bit more work before they could be taken as a serious threat to a Qunari. That story was very much different for the two Dwarves. Though, Natia didn't need to worry all that much about the enemies either. She was too fast for them. The only time she ran into any difficulty was when the shield-bearer smashed her shield against the female casteless Dwarf.

Within a mere five minutes, the battle came to an end. Duran slammed his axe straight into the chest of the mage, and glared at a small group of three men. Two were soldiers by the looks of them; human, and of course they were with Loghain as well. These men were probably just rabble to hold them back whilst they spoke with the Gatekeeper. He was done playing around, and immediately he grabbed onto Natia's shoulder and pointed towards a tree.

"Climb up there and get your crossbow out. We're not playing fair with these idiots. They want to try and kill us while we're working to save the world, then we can kill them without hesitation. I'll lead them back into a clear area where you can fire. I don't want to look more bad than we already do in the eyes of our kin." Duran ordered.

Natia nodded slowly, "Alright. Lead 'em over to the small clearin' and I'll shoot 'em down. There's only three o' them so it should be easy." The woman reassured Duran before heading over to the designated tree and beginning to climb it.

"Sten, I want you to accompany me. There's no telling what they'll do, and we may have a fight right at the gates rather than our own predetermined turf." Duran stated and the Qunari simply let out a huff.

The two of them made their way over to the Gatekeeper and requested entry. The Dwarf experienced a brief moment of shock before shaking his head, ultimately denying him entry whilst also denying Loghain's men for what must have been the tenth time. Both parties were coming to each other about the Blight, though something told Duran that Loghain's claims were illegitimate. He would probably divert the Dwarvish help to the Civil War brewing in Ferelden than the actual threat in the South.

The Gatekeeper then came to a decision to allow one group entry into the last Dwarven city. The only complication was... the two groups had to choose which one would be going in. Since they weren't exactly friends, that conclusion could only be formed by who survived a battle. Despite Duran's attempts at a peaceful victory through negotiation. It wasn't long before Sten and Duran found themselves standing in the middle of the open area they had picked moments ago to act as a battleground.

Before the three men could start anything, a bolt went through the 'diplomat's' head and Sten cleaved the head from a soldier's shoulder in no time at all. Duran? Well Duran did what he was best at and just ended the remaining soldier rightfully. It seemed they would be the group getting into the Dwarven city. Now all they had to do was wait for clearance...

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**AN: Sorry if the last half seems a bit rushed. It was. I really just wanted to get it out to you guys. There wasn't much else I could put in other than filler, and I really to want to monitor how many words go into each chapter. Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed! I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	18. Act 1 - Chapter 14

_Act 1: Alliance of the Grey_

**Chapter 14: The Civil War Begins**

Shadow stood in amidst a field. Tall grass, there wasn't much else to describe about it. The sun was rather warm this day, and a fully armored man would have to take many breaks throughout his day. Those engaged in battle faced a real threat of dying not by sword, but by heatstroke. He was leading the Logosha under his command into the heart of the Blight's advance. So far, their front lines placed them directly at Lothering. It was time to change that. They may have been miles from Castle Cousland, but that didn't matter to the man. It had to be done. Someone had to slow down the advancing hordes. There would be no better force to oppose them than their more superior brethren.

To most he'd be resting, sitting amidst a field that provided good cover from the sun. In reality he was just waiting patiently. The Darkspawn taint hadn't reached this far. Though it wasn't far off. Despite the summer heat, the man could feel the chill of the Darkspawn. He could sense their movements, their actions. Somehow they hadn't sensed him relatively close by. It was either that, or they were busy with something amidst the ruins of the human village. The latter would surprise him. There was nothing there for the Darkspawn and their Archdemon to be interested in.

"My Lord, our scouting party reports that the Darkspawn are gathering more towards the East than here." One of the Logosha reported in a snarl, "They are planning to travel straight up North from there, landing them close to the Ferelden capital."

Shadow nodded, "That would explain why we haven't been submerged in bodies by now... Though that doesn't explain why they have sent nothing towards us."

"Unfortunately, we could not figure that out. If we know the Darkspawn, however, it's because the Archdemon is splitting his forces. It would be most productive to have a forked strategy than a single push." The Logosha replied, earning a chuckle from Shadow.

"The thing may be smart, but I don't think it's that smart. Not yet at least. Have two men scout out the Western areas, though, just so we can be sure. I don't want to take any unnecessary risks with this." Shadow ordered, getting a bow from the Logosha before he went to join the others to relay the orders.

It was entirely possible that the Dwarves were making a move against the Darkspawn down in the Deep Roads below them. It would make sense as well, seeing as how Blights made the Darkspawn's power in numbers dwindle below the surface. This would also explain a sudden halting in the Archdemon's advance, if one could call it that. It was evident they were still making a good push on the surface, but it wasn't as fueled as it was before. When they stormed the Southern lands and took Ostagar by force, just for the old fortress simply being in their way.

It was time to move. Shadow was getting impatient, and he knew that if he loitered any longer the Darkspawn would move on him. Not that he would mind it. He just didn't want to give the Archdemon any further ideas. The less land the creature's forces owned, the better Ferelden was in the long run. He just hoped the other Grey Wardens could complete their tasks in a timely matter. Even with him and the Logosha striking up against the Darkspawn's advance... well, it wouldn't be too long before they were defeated or exhausted.

Shadow turned around and approached the Logosha who had just dispatched two of their brethren to scout the West, the regrouping point being Castle Cousland in four days. If they didn't make it, they would be presumed dead. Not that it really mattered to anyone. It was just number management really, though the Logosha often had something of a family with each other. There were no females, but many considered those born alongside them to be their brothers. Or as they were more commonly known, Broodbrothers.

"Logosha, assume offensive stances. Form standard traveling positions. We head East." Shadow ordered, and immediately the Logosha carried out his orders.

They then set out on their march for the Darkspawn. When they met with him upon the battlefield, it would be for an indeterminate amount of time. There wasn't anything saying how long the Darkspawn would hold out before getting pushed back, or how long the Logosha and Shadow could keep on fighting before they were forced to retreat or overwhelmed. But no one that was a part of the Logosha really cared about that. They respected death in combat. It was the best way to die, in their eyes at least. Though they wouldn't meet with the Darkspawn for another hour, excluding random patrols and stragglers they may happen across. The bulk of their forces were amassing towards the East, preparing for a straight shot North towards Denerim. Shadow should have figured that would be their plan. Take the capital and the rest of the Kingdom would fall, and by extension, the rest of the world with it.

* * *

Meanwhile, up North near Castle Cousland the newest Teyrn began to form his newly formed army. Rendon Howe's forces were spotted as soon as they reached the Imperial Highway. There was no hiding from the Logosha scouts that ran rampant throughout Ferelden now. All reporting in to their Dark Mother, and Aedan himself. Howe wouldn't even step foot near the village or the castle itself. The entirety of his forces would be annihilated within the hour. Or so the young self-proclaimed Teyrn had thought.

In reality, it would take much longer for that to stop all of Howe's forces and perhaps send them into a full retreat. The Logosha were great in number, but there were only so much available to him. The rest would come as reinforcements to fill the space left by the casualties. Howe's men could at least rest assured that they'd receive quick deaths. If it was one thing the Logosha had in common with their Darkspawn brethren, it was that they were quick and brutal. There was no torturing unless they wanted information, and that was assuming that they had managed to capture them without slaughtering them in the first place. This time, however, there was literally no purpose to keep Howe's men alive. Unless there was some noble, or a high ranking officer, there would be no sparing anyone. The Logosha would have free reign to kill anything in their sight.

Of course, this was restricted to Howe's men alone. There would be no civilian casualties. Not unless the Logosha wanted to all get slaughtered and replaced with newer, better listening Logosha. There was also the matter of the human mercenaries Aedan had heard the Dark Mother speaking of. Men recruited to serve faithfully in the land above, to keep people from recognizing or identifying the Logosha. Working with such creatures would of course lead to Aedan being branded as a traitor to all of Thedas. That was something he couldn't risk. No matter how much he wanted to be truthful to his people. Though this anonymity gave him an advantage over practically any foe. No one would know what they would be up against. Not until they were dead, if they even knew then. It was more than likely going to be a short lived secret, as the more the Logosha got sent out, the more likely it was that they'd be discovered. Therefore the mercenaries would have to be recruited and sent out fast. The only issue was just that; recruitment. There wasn't enough willing souls out there in times like a Blight that would join up for that. Especially since many would-be mercenaries would have found that life choice by losing loved ones to the Blight. He'd have to think of something.

But that was enough about anything unrelated to Howe's advancing forces. He had to be prepared, which he and his armies were. Now it was just up to him to pose a decent threat against the waves. The Vanguard of Howe's men had already hit, and were decimated by the Logosha. They were skilled and killed many of Aedan's new army, but not enough. Not anywhere close to enough. Thirty six casualties was nothing against an entire force of experienced Logosha. Wiping out the Vanguard was a decent blow to Howe's advancing army. When the actual body of it reached them, then the real damage would be brought down upon Howe. Unfortunately for the poor man. He was a rat, and Aedan had no sympathy for men who were nothing more than soon-to-be corpses.

"Maintain your positions, await for my order to charge!" Aedan called out to the Logosha. "When we strike, do not fight fair! Do not give our enemy any advantage! They must never reach the village, or beyond!"

The Logosha stood there, not moving and terrifyingly silent. Usually drums would be heard, or the bashing of plate would be heard as they tried to pump themselves up for battle. Such things were what Humans did. Not the Logosha. They awaited the enemy to arrive whilst examining them in their quiet discipline. When their enemy arrived, it would be a battle to the death.

"Steady!" Aedan called out, "Prepare to charge!"

Nothing. Silence and heavy breathing were all the Logosha provided Howe's men to see and hear. No Logosha moved. No Logosha spoke a single word. They just stood there like statues, awaiting the command from their Warchief.

"Hold!" Aedan called as Howe's men passed a certain line Aedan had marked out. "ATTACK!"

That was when the battlefield erupted into sound. It was a large scale battle, one that would be a costly mistake on Howe's part. The man didn't know his enemy, which was one of the biggest mistakes one could make. If you didn't know your enemy, and you knew yourself, then chances were you had a massive error coming your way. Sure, you could make due with what you had, but if the enemy was overwhelmingly powerful in number and strength? No amount of tactics would work when you met them head on.

The first wave was the most brutal. The clash saw to the deaths of multiple men and Logosha alike. Howe's men fought with honor, and regarded these creatures as equals. They thought they were men, after all, and Howe's men weren't entirely without honor like Loghain's. The Logosha, however, didn't play around with honor. They had no honor that the Humans would be able to recognize. They were attacking anywhere and everywhere they could, quite literally going berserk on their opponents. Their hands clawed at the eyes, throats, and their swords and axes swung at weak spots. One unfortunate Lieutenant got his privates torn away by a Logosha's axe.

The thing with this type of fighting was simple. Howe's men expected first a confrontation, not a direct attack as soon as they arrived. It was what usually happened. Howe just made the grave mistake of sending a son as a Commander for this very reason. This Commander soon saw his entire force decimated within the blink of an eye, and with the Logosha having been exposed during the short battle, he saw multiple of the terrifying creatures.

The man tried to run, and he ran well. The only problem was Gruk, the Logosha that had just tore his horse's legs off with one swoop of his blade. Immediately the Logosha grappled onto the man's throat, lifting him up off of the ground and staring him square in the eyes. Anger burning within them. The man tried fighting back, managing to knock Gruk's helmet off and slice his face. This only set the Logosha into a rage as he slammed the man into the ground and punched him directly into the chest with spiked gauntlets. None long enough to kill, but all long enough to cause pain.

"Human dog!" Gruk growled as he once again grabbed Howe's son, lifting him up and bashing him in the face with the other hand; this one not spiked.

The battle, though it was coming to a close, was still raging all around them. It was two hundred and something versus a whopping seventy four. The former being Rendon's army. Three hundred was what he had sent. Excluding the vanguard and scouting forces. It was an impressive feat, seeing as how the Logosha started with a measly one hundred exactly. No more, and including Aedan.

Aedan's army on the battlefield had been comprised of Logosha in its entirety. There was not a single human upon the battlefield other than Aedan and Howe's men. This was mainly because the young Teyrn was giving his men rest. Those that survived had either been battered and bruised, or sustained heavy damage that would require immediate and concentrated medical attention. War was never easy, but that wasn't even a battle. It was a betrayal; a stab in the back by someone the Couslands thought they could trust. The Logosha were proving themselves to be worthy in the eyes of Aedan, taking most of the Arl's forces without hesitation upon command. He had been observing them each chance he got amidst the battle, watching as the Logosha ignored their fallen comrades in order to press the attack. Something Humans lacked the ability to do. Their emotions got the best of them. The Logosha? They were warriors bred for a single purpose; death upon the battlefield.

It took a few moments before Aedan observed Gruk holding up the Arl's son, Nathaniel, and rushed over to the two. "Gruk! Don't kill him! We can use him!" Aedan ordered just before evading a blow from one of the knights, quickly ending him with a slash to the throat.

"Here, pass him over to me. Order the Logosha to stop at high ranking Commanders, they'll be the ones with the most decorated armor. Now, go!" Aedan said as he took the man from the Logosha, and held his sword to the man's back. "Move it! To the castle, scum!"

Gruk groaned as he felt a sword clash into his gut, having watched Aedan walk away to ensure he was safe. Now that he was being attacked, however, the Logosha looked down at the puny man in front of him. He grinned as he grabbed the sword by its blade and pulled it out of his stomach slowly, using his other hand to grapple onto the man's head and crush it underneath his sheer strength.

"DISARM AND CAPTURE THE COMMANDERS, LOGOSHA! LEAVE NO OTHERS STANDING!" He roared before charging back into the fray, ignoring his bleeding gut.

Battle was always bloody, and this one was no different. Three hours had passed, and the Logosha had hunted down the last of the warband. There was no one alive save for four others, suspected Commanders of the army. They had spiked chains slapped onto their wrists, penetrating their flesh, and rendering their hands useless. The only parts they didn't penetrate were veins, and that was for obvious reasons. They were to be kept alive, not die slowly.

The battlefield was quite the sight to behold. A sight that would make those with weak stomachs vomit. Corpses laid on the ground, feeding Thedas their blood. Several limbs were dismembered, and the air reeked of death. There was no misplacing that smell. Iron, sweat, manure and piss... Such were common smells upon the aftermaths of battle. Thankfully the wind was running South, and the only ones who really had to smell it were possibly some farmers, and the Darkspawn when it reached them. By then the odor would probably be very faint.

* * *

Inside the Castle Cousland dungeons, Aedan overlooked the unconscious and hanging Nathaniel Howe. He was on his knees, his arms shackled to the wall with his feet shackled separately to the ground. This rendered the man unable to move without causing himself pain, and he could only force his body forward a certain distance.

"Guard. Retrieve Ysil for me. I wish to get information from our favorite Arl's son..." Aedan ordered as he rubbed his stubble.

"Yes, my Lord!" One of the men said before rushing out of the dungeons to retrieve the woman.

**AN: And so another chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed. :)**


	19. Break 1

Hello everyone!

I am writing this to let you all know that Group of Exiles will be on a hiatus until further notice. I'm reworking the story from where I have it currently, and wouldn't want you all to think I just gave up. Come next spring I will resume working on it. Another story is going to be started relatively soon and worked on that takes place in the world of The Last Of Us. Though I will be progressing through that this fall / winter, I do not want you all to think I have stopped Dragon Age. It will be coming back with a bang this spring, I promise.

This story has been my primary focus for almost two years now, and I believe it's time I took a small break from it so I can gather my thoughts and prepare for the years to come. I hope you all understand. If you have any questions whatsoever about the story, or what's going on with it, by all means send me a message.

With all that being said, I'd just like to thank you all for the reviews, follows, favourites, and all that stuff. It means a lot.

Thank you,

Sarenieth.

P.S. For those of you who are strictly here for Dragon Age and not the rest of my works, I'll see you next spring. Have a good winter, and stay safe!


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